Leonardo DiCaprio in Talks to Star in Heat 2 Amid Budget Battle

With Heat 2 experiencing budgetary issues, the highly anticipated sequel is recruiting Leonardo DiCaprio to star in and save the film.

Is Leonardo DiCaprio being recruited to save Heat 2 from budget issues?

According to Puck’s Matt Belloni, Heat 2 faces a major battle with Warner Bros. over the budget. Director Michael Mann came in with an initial budget of over $200 million. The Oscar nominee has since lowered the cost to $170 million. While Warner Bros. co-CEOs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy want to make a Heat sequel, the budget has to be lower.

Warner Bros. has sent the Heat 2 script to Apple to partner on Mann’s movie, potentially. One of the only things that could justify a large budget is an A-list star. Mann might have his answer in DiCaprio, who has had “conversations” with the director about starring. If DiCaprio signs on, Belloni suggests that the film will likely get made.

Heat 2 is a 2022 crime novel by Mann and Meg Gardiner. The book is a prequel and sequel to the 1995 movie, Heat. The prequel is set in Chicago in 1988, with Detective Vincent Hanna working to catch a ruthless gangster. Concurrently, Neil McCauley, Chris Shiherlis, and Michael Cerrito are planning their next score.

The book then picks up in 1995, moments after the events of the movie, with Chris on the run from Vincent. The novel then skips ahead to 2000, with Vincent looking for that same Chicago gangster, while Chris works for a powerful Taiwanese-Paraguayan crime family.

There are no reports as to who DiCaprio would play. However, playing the younger version of Neil McCauley makes the most sense out of the characters available.

Released in 1995, Mann’s Heat starred Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley and Al Pacino as Vincent Hanna. The movie grossed $187 million on a budget of $60 million.

Source: Comingsoon.net