Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler will star in ‘Miami Vice ‘85’, the new film by Joseph Kosinski that revisits the criminal and aesthetic universe of 1980s Miami.
Universal Pictures has officially greenlit ‘Miami Vice ‘85’, a new cinematic reimagining of the iconic crime franchise that will bring Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs and James “Sonny” Crockett back to the big screen. For this new chapter, the studio has cast two of the most in-demand actors of their generation: Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler, who will take on the lead roles in a production aiming to recapture the visual pulse, glamour and corruption of mid-1980s Miami.
The film will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, known for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘F1’, a choice that signals the project’s ambition. Rather than updating the material in a contemporary setting, this new version deliberately returns to the stylistic roots of the original universe. The approach draws directly from the 1984 pilot episode and the first season of the series that turned Tubbs and Crockett into defining figures of pop culture.
Unlike the 2006 film adaptation directed by Michael Mann, this iteration is conceived as a period piece. ‘Miami Vice ‘85’ will be fully set within the 1980s context that defined the franchise, embracing all its aesthetic and narrative codes: neon lights, organised crime, decadent luxury and a city shaped by the tension between spectacle and violence.
The screenplay is written by Dan Gilroy, while Michael Mann, co-creator of the original series, will serve as executive producer. This combination of a fresh creative vision and the involvement of a key figure from the original universe reinforces Universal’s intention to go beyond simple nostalgia and deliver a film with its own identity within a franchise that still carries strong cultural weight.
In this new version, Michael B. Jordan will portray Tubbs, while Austin Butler will take on the role of Crockett. The casting suggests a carefully balanced pairing of charisma, intensity and commercial appeal. Jordan brings a well-established dramatic presence, while Butler arrives at a particularly strong moment in his career, making them a duo capable of carrying both the action and the film’s stylised narrative.
Production is set to begin this summer, with the studio placing a strong emphasis on the film’s visual scale. ‘Miami Vice ‘85’ will be shot entirely for IMAX theatres, underlining its cinematic ambition and its focus on immersive spectacle.
With a global release scheduled for 6 August 2027, ‘Miami Vice ‘85’ is already shaping up to be one of the major studio releases in the coming years.
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