Michael Mann's beloved 1995 heist film Heat has a sequel of sorts in the works—Heat 2, the novel.

Co-written with Meg Gardiner, the novel takes place both before and after the events of the movie, drawing on Mann's detailed backstories of the movie's iconic characters.

"When I was writing the film, it was imperative for me to create complete life stories about all the characters and to know everything about them," Mann said in a recent interview.

"It's been my intention for a long time to do the further stories of Heat," Mann added. "There was always a rich history or back-story about the events in these people's lives before 1995 in Heat and projection of where their lives would take them after."

Heat 2 is slated for an Aug. 9 release.

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