Director Michael Mann has revealed he is considering the use of AI technology for aging and de-aging actors in his upcoming film Heat 2, the long-awaited follow-up to his 1995 crime classic.
Speaking during a press conference at the Lumière Festival in Lyon, where he is receiving the festival's honorary award, Mann said artificial intelligence could play a key role in bringing younger versions of the film's iconic characters to life. Mann confirmed that while he has not yet used AI in his filmmaking, he is exploring the technology for narrative reasons, not spectacle.
"I don't experiment with technology gratuitously," Mann said, per Deadline. "If I have a dramatic or aesthetic need for it, then I go deep into what I need. For example, aging and de-aging will be very important in Heat 2."
The film will revisit the lives of Detective Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino in the original), Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), and Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) in stories set before and after the events of the 1995 film. Mann noted that convincing portrayals of the characters at different ages will be essential, and modern AI tools may help meet that creative challenge.
Mann also confirmed that production is officially moving forward, now backed by Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists after shifting from Warner Bros. He explained that the move was driven largely by budget demands.
"Heat 2 is an expensive movie to make, but I believe it should be made at the proper size and scale," Mann said. "It's complex… shooting in Chicago, Los Angeles, Paraguay, and possibly Singapore."
Mann expects a robust theatrical release in over 4,000 U.S. cinemas with a 45-day run before streaming, an important detail given Amazon's growing investment in theatrical releases.
The sequel will begin the day after the ending of the original film, with Val Kilmer's character Chris Shiherlis on the run.
"Only Val Kilmer is alive," Mann said. "He has to flee the United States, and then it goes seven years earlier, to 1988."
That timeline jump is what introduces the need for AI-assisted aging, as Pacino and De Niro's characters will appear younger during earlier storylines. Mann says Heat 2 will explore how their pasts shaped who they became by 1995.
"The characters of Heat are so alive to me [...] I know everything about these characters," he said. "I always wanted to do more with these people but I couldn't figure out how to do it because one's dead at the end of Heat."
Heat 2is expected to arrive in theaters in 2027, according to Mann, who says the project could begin shooting soon.