Michael Mann Addresses Using AI for Heat 2

by

Michael Mann is moving ahead with a sequel to his 1995 film, now with Amazon MGM Studios. The director recently shared his vision for the movie and explained how he feels about using artificial intelligence in its production.

At the Lumiere Festival, director Michael Mann discussed his upcoming film, *Heat 2*. He shared that while he hasn’t used artificial intelligence yet, he’s exploring it to help realistically age and de-age the main characters, like Al Pacino’s Vincent Hanna, Robert De Niro’s Neil McCauley, and Val Kilmer’s Chris Shiherlis. The movie will be a prequel, showing what happened before the events of the original 1995 film.

I don’t use technology just for the sake of it,” Mann explained. “I really dive in when there’s a strong creative or story-driven reason. For instance, showing characters aging or becoming younger will be a key part of the movie.

According to director Michael Mann, the delay with *Heat 2* is because the film is costly and he wants to film it in several different cities. He said, “It’s an expensive movie to make, but I think it needs to be done right, at the proper scale.” Filming locations will include Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paraguay, with Singapore also being considered.

It’s a complicated situation. The budget significantly impacted where we could film. If the cost had been lower, we could have shot it anywhere. Unfortunately, I can’t discuss all the details, but the project shifted from Warner Brothers to Amazon and United Artists due to these complexities.

He praised Amazon’s plans to expand beyond just streaming movies and TV shows. He explained that the company is evolving with the goal of becoming a significant player in traditional movie exhibition – showing films in theaters. He believes that because the movie isn’t scheduled to release for almost two years, Amazon has a huge opportunity to leverage its various businesses to support the film’s success.

Mann’s Massive Budget Requirements for Heat 2 Prompted a Studio Switch Up

News surfaced earlier this month that United Artists was discussing a potential project, but disagreements over the budget stalled the deal. Director Mann originally requested $230 million for the film, but Warner Bros. was only willing to approve around $140 million. Talks ultimately failed because Warner Bros. capped the budget at $150 million and also wanted Mann to agree to make another Heat movie as a condition.

First released in 1995, this film stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, and Jon Voight. It centers on the complex conflict between a Los Angeles detective (Pacino) and a professional thief (De Niro), and how it affects both their work and personal lives. The movie was a major financial success, earning $187 million with a $60 million budget, and is considered a landmark film in the crime and action genres.

Heat 2 does not have a release date at this time.

Read More

2025-10-18 16:43