The Book Was Better. Casting Call For Heat 2: A Novel by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner

If you haven’t read this book. Put down your phone, and do so immediately. Often when literary works are translated to film, things are missed, lost, if not outright destroyed. It appears this particular work published in 2022 is in the quite capable hands of the author and creator of Heat himself, director Michael Mann and (rumored) actors Austin Butler (Chris Shiherlis) and Adam Driver (a younger Neil McCauley, pre-Heat) I’d also just like to chime in here with some names if I may, to round out the cast of this rather motley crew of cops and criminals and the gorgeous women who love them. So, with Butler in Val Kilmer’s previous role, and Driver in De Niro’s, here is the rest of the lineup for this story that timelines 1988-2000: Anthony Ramos as Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), Ewan McGregor as Nate (Jon Voight), Burt Kreischer as Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore). I believe he can do this role and he’s ready. Lainey Wilson as Charlene Shiherlis (Ashley Judd), Lamorne Morris as Drucker (Mykelti Williamson), Owen Crow Shoe as Casals (Wes Studi), Ebon Moss Bacharach as Kelso (Tom Noonan), Ricardo Adam Zarate as Trejo (Danny Trejo), and new but heavy-hitting characters just the same include Vince Vaughn as Baumann, Jacob Lofland as Alex, Ana Brenda Contreras as Elisa, Jenna Ortega as her grown daughter Gabriela in the year 2000, and Annie Chen as Ana. Lastly, is maybe the most important role of all. That of the extremely evil villain, Otis Wardell. From this, I cannot budge. I will not budge. It’s Paul Walter Hauser. It’s him and no one else. Paul Walter Hauser is Otis.Otis is him. There’s no other list for that particular character. He is the list. Paul Walter Hauser is an incredible actor and screen presence. He has to be Otis Wardell. End of discussion.
Other actors that could plug in nicely into other roles not mentioned or listed would be Jacob Latimore, Myles Truitt, and Jahking Guillory. I like them for this prequel-sequel adaptation.
Again, aside from the role of Otis which is totally and completely taken, whoever is cast overall, I’m certain the finished film will be a masterpiece companion to this terrific tome that is equal the best parts of Elmore Leonard, Thomas Harris and Richard Marcinko. It’s that solid of a read. Start turning those pages now and envision these fantastic actors listed below breathing life into all of these deeply defined characters.