NEW YORK (AP) — Decades after the release of Michael Mann's "Heat," the classic crime thriller has endured in the minds of fans, critics, peers, and the director himself.

He had so much left to say.

Mann says: "There's always the sense of being shortchanged."

He has finally rounded out the story from his 1995 movie.

He has brought back the lethal, calculating criminal Neil McCauley, played by Robert De Niro; and the swaggering detective Vincent Hanna, played by Al Pacino.

Others he's brought back include supporting characters Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore), and Nate (Jon Voight).

He hopes to make another "Heat" movie.

But he has chosen to re-introduce them through a novel, "Heat 2," which is the first of three planned books.

One of those novels might be related to "Heat."

The book comes out on Aug. 9.