Michael Mann is set to jump into writing again with a new novel. This untitled novel will be his second collaboration with author Meg Gardiner, after writing Heat 2. Mann is currently working on developing his film adaptation of Heat 2, which he will write and direct.
As far as this new novel goes, it’s said to explore “an intense global manhunt launched by a renegade federal agent and a stateless operator on a vendetta, in a highly authentic global arena.”
This will be the first book in a planned series. Mann signed a three-book, multimillion-dollar publishing deal with the HarperCollins division William Morrow and this will be his second book. If the book ends up being a big hit, there’s a good chance that it will eventually be adapted into a film.
As for Heat 2, it will tell the story of what led up to the events in the first film, which is set in 1989, and what happened after, which is set in 2002. It covers “the formative years of homicide detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and elite criminals Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), and Nate (Jon Voight), and features the same extraordinary ambition, scope, rich characterizations, and attention to detail as the epic film.”
This new story “leads up to the events of the film and then moves beyond it, featuring new characters on both sides of the law, new high-line heists, and breathtakingly cinematic action sequences. Ranging from the streets of L.A. to the inner sancta of rival Taiwanese crime syndicates in Paraguay to a massive drug cartel money-laundering operation just over the border in Mexico, Heat 2 illuminates the dangerous workings of international crime organizations and the agents who pursue them as it provides a full-blooded portrait of the men and women who inhabit both worlds. Operatic in scope, Heat 2 is engrossing, moving, and tragic—a masterpiece of crime fiction from one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers in American cinema.”
It’s explained that the book jumps between two time periods, “the first following Chris Shiherlis as he tries to evade the LAPD and Detective Vincent Hanna following the bank robbery gone bad and moves forward into new territory in the tri-border zone and Southeast Asia. The second storyline takes readers back to Chicago in 1988 when McCauley, Shiherlis and their high-line crew are taking scores on the West Coast, the U.S.-Mexico border, and in Chicago. At the same time, Hanna is cutting his teeth as a rising star in the Chicago police department chasing an ultraviolent gang of home invaders. The fallout from McCauley’s scores and Hanna’s pursuit cause unexpected repercussions in a parallel narrative.”
Source: Deadline
