Austin Butler is riding the wave right now and is in high demand. He recently appeared on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast and hinted he’s on course to play a younger version of Val Kilmer’s character, Chris Shiherlis in Heat 2.
Elvis, I mean Butler, revealed he recently rewatched Michael Mann’s Heat and added Thief to his list of movies to watch. Now, some would say he’s just watching the movies because he enjoys quality cinema. Or you could say that it’s a relatively slow news day and I’m grasping at straws in order to feed you Outposters something to read at work or an excuse to ignore your co-workers whilst on your lunch break.
The Heatyverse
Michael Mann directed the original Heat movie which is regarded as a stone-cold classic. Last year he released a novel that is a prequel simply called Heat 2 and made it quite clear he intends on making it a movie.
Mann added that he wasn’t worried about finding financing for the project, mostly due to the film’s massive fanbase.
“It’s sustained in culture. It’s known. I could delude myself into thinking that the whole world is familiar with it, but when you check out its prominence in home vid for over 20 years, this thing really has legs. People are still watching it, people are still talking about it. It’s a brand. It’s kind of a Heat universe, in a way. And that certainly justifies a very large ambitious movie.
A “Heat universe” – oh do fuck off. Seriously, why can’t movies just have sequels anymore, what’s with this whole universe nonsense?!
Prequel or Sequel or Both?
Heat 2 follows the formative years of detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and criminals Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), Chris Shiherlis (Kilmer), and Nate ( Jon Voight) while also telling a story beyond the story of the original movie.
The setting takes place both before and after the original, in the same vein as The Godfather Part II, and will largely focus on Hanna and Chris Shiherlis.
Regardless, Butler could easily pass as the younger Kilmer/Chris Shiherlis but the other question remains, who replaces Pacino, De Niro, and Voight?
I know this goes without saying, as you Outposters are a cultured lot who appreciate good movies, but if you haven’t seen Heat, you need to stop what you are doing and go and watch it right now because it really is…
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