Adam Driver has confirmed his role in Heat 2, and commented on director Michael Mann’s recent shooting accident.
Appearing on an episode of The Rich Eisen Show, Driver confirmed to the host that he will be playing the role of Otis Wardell in Mann’s upcoming follow-up to the 1995 crime film. With a story spanning multiple time periods, Heat 2 serves as both a prequel and a sequel to the original film, and Driver’s Wardell character is its principal antagonist. In letting confirmation of his role slip, Driver joked, “I think I can say that, but I’ll find out pretty soon [if I can’t].”
Driver also expressed enthusiasm at being reunited with Mann, who he previously teamed up with on the 2023 motor racing biopic, Ferrari.
“Heat is a masterpiece,” Driver told Eisen. “I love Michael, I loved working with him [on] Ferrari, but working on this? I’m excited. The cast is so awesome.”
Driver also mentioned that Heat 2’s shooting schedule had been delayed, and that he wouldn’t start on the production until early December. When asked by Eisen if the delay had been caused by Mann’s recent shooting accident at a Los Angeles gun range, Driver insisted that Mann’s misfortune hadn’t significantly halted production.
“No, [the delay] was already part of the plan,” said Driver. “[Mann] is good. I texted him, he immediately responded, [and] he was at work the next day.”
Heat 2’s well, heat, has been rising steadily since February of this year, when The Dark Knight star Christian Bale confirmed that he was about to start filming the movie in Chicago. Then in July, Inception’s Leonardo DiCaprio came on board, confirming that he would be playing the role of Chris Shiherlis (originally played by Val Kilmer), and that Bale would be tackling the Vincent Hanna part (originally played by Al Pacino). The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach was apparently in final talks for a role in the film in September, although confirmation of his casting has yet to be officially announced.
In the 2022 Heat 2 novel that the film is based on, Driver’s wardell character is described as being the psychopathic leader of an ultraviolent gang of home invaders. Although the book’s story is presented in a non-linear structure that hops around between 1988, mid-nineties, and all the way up to the year 2000, Driver said, “As a script it’s even more condensed and streamlined. Obviously in the book you have to have a lot of descriptors, but with the film it’s just a missile.”
While the original Heat was made with Warner Bros., Heat 2 has since ended up at Amazon MGM Studios.
Tristan Ogilvie is a senior video editor at IGN based in Sydney, Australia. He has 25 years of experience covering video games, having served as Deputy Editor on Official PlayStation 2 Magazine Australia and as Editor of Official Xbox 360 Magazine Australia, before joining IGN in 2009. You can find him on Bluesky @tristanogilvie.bsky.social
