The Best Crime Thriller Of All-Time Returns To Streaming Next Week Ahead Of Star-Studded Sequel

Published Oct 10, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

One of the best crime thriller movies of all time, if not the very best, will arrive on Netflix next week, and it features a star-studded ensemble. In recent years, Netflix's roster of thriller series has become a popular sector of the streaming service's overall offerings. New 2026 Netflix crime thriller series like His & Hers and I Will Find You even went the distance and became some of the most-watched Netflix TV shows of all time, with the latter kicking off the former of the chart. That said, Netflix's Original movies have also thrived when it comes to crime thrillers.

In fact, the latest major release from the streaming service comes from the genre, as Ben Affleck's Animals follows a mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped, forcing him to confront some dark truths. In 2026, Netflix's slate of crime movies has also included major hits like Russel Crowe's Unabomber, which analyzed the famous killer's psyche, and Robert De Niro's The Whisper Man, which explored a past investigation coming back to haunt a family years later. Now, De Niro will see one of his biggest movies come to the streaming service, as Michael Mann's Heat will be released on Netflix next week.

Heat Is Officially Returning To Streaming At The Perfect Time

According to Netflix, Heat will be officially released on the streaming service on October 16. The iconic crime thriller is one of the many movies and TV shows set to arrive on Netflix in October. That list also includes intense films like Eminem's drama 8 Mile, Brad Pitt's sci-fi movie Ad Astra, Matt Damon's entire spy thriller Jason Bourne franchise, Denzel Washington's The Equalizer, Mike Flanagan's Hush, and many more. On October 16, the same day that De Niro's Heat arrives on Netflix, the streamer will see the arrival of another major action franchise release, The Fate of the Furious.

Heat was originally released in theaters on December 15, 1995. The crime thriller movie finished its global box office run with $187.4 million. Heat holds a stellar 84% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 157 reviews. The film boasts an even higher, near-perfect 94% audience score based on over 100,000 ratings. The movie's fan-favorite status, paired with Netflix's successful track record of crime thrillers in 2026, suggest that Heat could become a major performer for the streamer. Heat features stars like De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Natalie Portman, and many more. Detective Vincent Hanna tries to catch the elusive thief Neil McCauley.

What's The Latest On The Crime Thriller Sequel?

Heat will begin streaming on Netflix in time for new viewers to be caught up when the classic crime thriller's announced sequel debuts. Heat 2 began as a crime novel written by Mann and Meg Gardiner, which was released in 2022. Its events take place both before and after Heat's story. Heat 2 will reportedly star Leonardo DiCaprio as Chris Shiherlis, Christian Bale as Vincent Hanna, and Stephen Graham as Neil McCauley. Heat 2 currently has no confirmed release date, but according to The Wrap in a July report, the Heat sequel will start filming in November, right after the original's Netflix arrival.