Michael Mann hopes to adapt Heat sequel novel for the cinema

Michael Mann wants to make 'Heat 2' for the big screen.

The 79-year-old filmmaker helmed the 1995 crime epic and has written a sequel that will be published as a novel later this summer – which he is planning to adapt into a movie.

Speaking to Empire magazine, Michael said: "It's totally planned to be a movie. Is it a modest movie? No. Is it a very expensive series? No. It's going to be one large movie."

Mann did reveal that Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer would be unable to reprise their roles as Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis respectively as the movie will follow a sequel-prequel structure and will be set before the events of the original.

The director said: "I love those guys, but they'd have to be six years younger than they were in 'Heat'.

Michael is confident that the sequel would be successful as the original movie remains popular more than 25 years since it was released.

He explained: "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."

Mann also revealed that he has decided to release the novel first so fans can "deep-dive" into the story.

The 'Collateral' filmmaker said: "The ability to which you can deep-dive into the internal world is fascinating, and you can do that best in a novel.

"I try to evoke that experience in the films I make, to locate the audience within the internal world of a character. The novel form allows me an even greater arena."