Is Leonardo DiCaprio Taking Over Val Kilmer's Role In "Heat 2"?

Dan Lalonde
Oct 8
1 min read

Heat Michael Mann Leonardo DiCaprio Val Kilmer Al Pacino Robert De Niro

Who is the best crime drama filmmaker of all time? Is it Martin Scorsese? Francis Ford Coppola? Guy Ritchie? Or is it Michael Mann?

Leonardo DiCaprio is circling to take over Val Kilmer's role as Chris Shihirlis in Michael Mann's 'Heat 2'. It's expected to have a completely new cast as it is based on the 2022 novel, which is both a prequel and a sequel to the events of the first film. It follows Robert De Niro's character, Neil McCauley, in the past, pulling heists, while in the present, Al Pacino's character, Vincent Hanna, is chasing after Shihirlis throughout South America.

There is a new character in the book, Otis Wardell, a rapist and murderer, whom I originally thought DiCaprio wanted to play, as Austin Butler was rumored to replace Kilmer, as they can pass for twins, but now it looks like DiCaprio will be the one to play Shihirlis, who spends years trying to get back to his wife (played by Ashley Judd in the first film).

Mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer has signed on to steer the ship as Mann has moved the project from Warner Bros over to Amazon, which has supposedly agreed to a budget of $170 million. Stars like Adam Driver and Bradley Cooper have been rumored to be in contention, possibly for the younger versions of De Niro and Pacino's characters.

Who do you want to see in 'Heat 2'? Comment below with your thoughts.