It's been a long four years since Michael Mann last released a film in theaters, and for his fans it might feel even longer, since neither Public Enemies or Miami Vice before that seemed up to his usual standard. Is it finally time for him to come back into everyone's good graces?
It sure can't hurt that he'll be teaming up with golden boy Chris Hemsworth, who will reportedly star for Mann in an untitled thriller. According to Variety Mann has been developing the project for more than a year with Morgan Davis Foehl, the guy who's also been working on the Mass Effect video game adaptation for Legendary Pictures since last fall. The Mann film will probably be a serious change of piece-- Variety says the "plot details are unknown," but that the film centers around "cyber threats and attacks."
That sounds perfectly up Mann's alley, and fans of Heat may be hoping for something like a modern, Internet-tinged version of that story of cops and robbers. But it's worth noting that this project is not one of the many he's been mulling over the years, including a Chicago Mafia story and The Big Stone Grid, a story about an underground extortion ring. This upcoming film sounds no less intense, but maybe a change of pace away from his usual milieu of gangsters and no-goodniks. For the Mann faithful, the fact that he's returning at all is good news enough.
