EXCLUSIVE: Michael Mann looks to have found his Charlene for his upcoming sequel to Heat as sources tell Deadline the director has tapped Odessa Young to play the character in Heat 2. Sources say it is unknown where things stand in negotiations but add she is the choice for the role originally played by Ashley Judd in the 1995 crime saga. Insiders also say Mann’s top choice to play Gabi is newcomer Maria Cid.
A recent report speculated Obsession star Inde Navarrette had landed the Charlene role but passed. Sources close to the production say Navarrette actually auditioned for the role of Gabi along with many other actresses and contrary to the rumors, Cid was Mann’s first choice for Gabi part with Young being the first choice for Charlene.
If deals close, Young and Cid would join Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Adam Driver, Stephen Graham and Jason Clarke in the upcoming pic.
Mann will direct Heat 2 from his own script, based on his and Meg Gardiner’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel. Producers include Mann, Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ Jerry Bruckheimer, and UA’s Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt. Eric Roth and Shane Salerno will exec produce, with Amazon MGM to release the film in theaters.
Mann’s classic 1995 crime thriller Heat follows master thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) as he plans one last score while obsessive LAPD detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) closes in, with both men wrecking their personal lives in service of the job.
Mann wrote and directed that one and produced alongside Art Linson, with the film grossing over $187 million — what would be close to the $400 million range if released today — at the worldwide box office. Also starring Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, and more, the film from Warner Bros. and New Regency has influenced generations of filmmakers and retained major viewership on streaming and home entertainment for decades.
Published in 2022, Heat 2 is both prequel and sequel — examining Vincent Hanna’s Chicago years, Neil McCauley’s earlier criminal life, and the survival of Kilmer’s Chris Shiherlis after the original film’s bank-robbery climax.
Young most recently starred opposite Jeremy Allen White in the Bruce Springsteen biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. She recently wrapped production on the upcoming Netflix crime series Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit starring Adam Driver.
She is repped by CAA, Echo Lake Entertainment and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Cid is repped by Lumo Artists Agency.
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