Heat is a spectacular standalone crime movie, and nobody would have ever thought that a sequel would be in development, but lo and behold, writer-director Michael Mann has confirmed Heat 2 plans. It isn't exactly clear what direction the sequel could head in (though the novel sequel due out in September will shed some light on that,) but it's exciting nevertheless.
The 1990s is a treasure trove of gripping standalone crime movies, and Heat isn't the only one that deserves a sequel. Between a forgotten Christopher Walken-starring gangster classic, an understated tale of a retired hitman, and a period drama about a genius conman, their sequels could be even better.
The King Of New York (1990)
Christopher Walken has always been an eccentric actor, whether it's his cameo in Annie Hall as Duane, a speed racer with a deathwish, or his golden late-career performance as dognapper Hans in Seven Psychopaths. But when it comes to playing mob boss Frank White in The King of New York, the quirky actor plays it surprisingly straight. Save for his hair and a dance he shares with his gang, the character has almost no eccentricities, but that's what makes it one of Walken's most exceptional performances.
At the end of the movie, it's safe to assume that Frank dies after being wounded by a police officer shooting at him. But other movie characters have come back from a lot worse. A sequel could follow Frank still in control of New York, and it could see how the death of his right-hand man, Jump, affected operations. There's no better movie for Walken at this point in his career than The King of New York 2, which could see him reprise his most overlooked and understated role ever.
Leon: The Professional (1994)
Leon: The Professional is one of the best movies about a sympathetic hitman, as it's full of high-octane action and a surprising amount of heat. The 1994 movie ended with the assassin getting killed, but there's one clear way a sequel could happen.
Throughout the film, Leon (Jean Reno) teaches the 12-year-old Mathilda (Natalie Portman) to become a trained killer, and as it has been 28 years since the movie, that 12-year-old would be about 40 now, around the same age as Leon. And as Mathilda was played by Portman, she obviously became an incredible actor and could easily reprise her role. The sequel could see the character as an established hitwoman herself, continuing Leon's work, and it could be called Mathilda: The Professional.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Everybody dies in 1992's Reservoir Dogs except for one character, Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi). Pink escaped the bloodbath warehouse with the briefcase of diamonds, but nobody knows what happened to him after that. He could have gotten caught or he could have gotten away scot-free, but he also surely had a lot of people to answer to following the movie's events.
There's so much crossover between the 1992 movie and Pulp Fiction, whether it's that Vic and Vincent Vega are brothers or the theory that the Buddy Holly waiter is Mr. Pink. But that's just speculation and fans need a proper sequel.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Like almost every Shane Black-written movie, The Long Kiss Goodnight throws a troubled private detective with an unlikely teammate. In this case, it's a schoolteacher with amnesia (Geena Davis) who is trying to recover her identity. The film has one of Black's best mysteries, and the end hints that Mitch (Samuel L. Jackson) has a prosperous career following the movie's events. And it'd be great to see Jackson return in a Non-Marvel original crime movie set in modern times.
It almost seems as if Black is cursed, as all of his movies hint at sequels in the closing moments, but for as much as fans want them, they never arrive. The more recently released Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys both hinted at more adventures with their respective private eyes, but, likely because of disappointing box office grosses, they never surfaced.
Jackie Brown (1997)
Quentin Tarantino fans often talk about the Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction crossover sequel that never happened or the Django/Zorro sequel. But Jackie Brown is one of the most rewatchable '90s crime movies that could have an incredible sequel. Things end happily for Jackie (Pam Grier), as she plans a trip to Madrid, but after so many years, she could very well have returned to a life of crime.
ATF Agent Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) does return in the 1998 movie Out of Sight, which confirms that they're both set in the same movie universe, but that's far from a sequel. However, Ray could return to work with Jackie once again. After all, she became a rat in the original movie, which is the worst thing any criminal could do, and she must have somebody who wants her dead after doublecrossing so many people.
New Jack City (1991)
New Jack City follows the cat-and-mouse chase between police detective Scotty Appleton (Ice-T) and arrogant drug kingpin Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes). Nino is given a one-year prison sentence at the end of the movie, but he's then fatally shot. The film is a commentary on the failed attempts made by the justice system to bring real-life criminals like Nino down, as the epilogue states that more action needs to be taken to bring down drug dealers.
Just because Nino is killed doesn't mean the drug lord's business slows down, and a sequel could follow the events of New Jack City with a new drug lord taking Nino's place and Appleton once again trying to bring him down. The follow-up could be a period crime drama just as the first movie was, taking place in the late '80s. With the right director attached, a New Jack City 2 could be one of the rare sequels that are much better than their predecessors.
The Rock (1996)
Plenty of Nicolas Cage movies should get sequels, like the ridiculous action movie Face/Off. But the one that deserves it most is The Rock, which could follow Dr. Stanley Goodspeed's (Cage) return to the FBI. But, more than anything, it could settle once and for all whether or not SAS Captain John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) really is James Bond.
Cage is having something of a renaissance in Hollywood right now, so 26 years isn't too late, and it's actually perfect timing. The movie could see Goodspeed as a grizzled and untrusting agent, just like how Mason was in the original film.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
The Talented Mr. Ripley features a villain protagonist, as the titular character (Matt Damon) uses his genius to lure his peers into a false sense of security, kill them, and steal their identities. At the end of the movie, Tom Ripley is successful and gets away with everything, and it's hinted that he moves on to plot another meticulous crime.
There have been other movies that depict Mr. Ripley, such as 2002's Ripley's Game, but there has never been a direct sequel to the 1999 film. Damon is just as popular and bankable of an actor as he was then, if not more so, so a sequel with him reprising the role of Mr. Ripley could work perfectly. Audiences won't even need to have seen the original film, as it'd follow the career criminal working on a completely new con.
Hard Eight (1996)
Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson has written and directed some instant classic movies, such as the melodramatic epic Magnolia and the Western drama There Will Be Blood. But his very first movie, Hard Eight, is an understated classic about a retired hitman, Sydney (Philip Baker Hall), protecting an unhoused man, John (John C. Reilly), who he took in and raised as his own. The film ends in bloodshed, as Sydney kills a man who threatened his livelihood, and he simply sits in a diner before the movie cuts to black.
As is the case with most Anderson-directed movies, audiences are left to wonder what happened next for themselves. A sequel could answer many questions that audiences had, especially as John is now much closer to Sydney's age and would surely have some stories to tell himself. It'd be the perfect film to honor Philip Baker Hall too, who just recently passed away.
Menace II Society (1993)
Menace II Society is one of the grittiest crime dramas of the 1990s, and it's notorious for its depiction of drugs and violence. However, it isn't done in an entertaining way but is instead a parable and cautionary tale. A sequel could focus on a new generation of teenagers in the crime-ridden Jordan Downs housing project.
The film could follow a brand new host of characters as they attempt to learn from the stories of their elders, just as Caine (Tyrin Turner) was always conscious of his parents' deaths in the first film. O-Dog (Larenz Tate) was one of the few characters to survive in Menace II Society, and he could serve as the elder statesman and teach the new generation about his troubled past, as he never regretted his violent crimes in the first film.