Jordan and Butler step into the shoes of Crockett and Tubbs — but can they outshine the past?
Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler have officially stepped into the sun-drenched, synth-heavy world of Miami Vice ’85. The first look from Universal’s reboot dropped on Monday, confirming the two stars as Ricardo Tubbs and Sonny Crockett — a casting that immediately invites comparisons to Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, the original duo who defined the show’s cool-weather swagger in the 1980s.
Jordan, bearded and brooding in a leather jacket, leans into the role with a gravity that feels less like a tribute and more like a recalibration. Butler, meanwhile, is seen in a grey suit, no white one in sight. Aiming down a barrel, already channeling Crockett’s trademark mix of charm and menace.
The image isn’t nostalgia. It’s a statement. This isn’t a remake. It’s a reclamation.
And it’s happening under Joseph Kosinski, the man behind Top Gun: Maverick and F1, who’s now bringing his eye for sleek, high-octane visuals to a franchise long haunted by its own legacy. The 2006 film, directed by Michael Mann and starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, was a critical and commercial misfire.
But Mann himself is reportedly releasing a new version of that film later this year, a move that suggests the IP is still very much alive, if not exactly thriving. Now, with Dan Gilroy writing the script and Kosinski directing, Miami Vice ’85 aims to reclaim the cultural moment that made the series iconic: the fusion of fashion, music, and urban decay.
The supporting cast reads like a roster of today’s most compelling actors. Alden Ehrenreich, Whitney Peak, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Danny Ramirez, André Holland, Michael Irby, all set to dive into the neon-lit underbelly of mid-80s Miami. Production has begun. The film lands in theaters on May 19, 2028.
No streaming deal. No compromise. Just a wide release, a bold title, and the weight of history on its shoulders. The question isn’t whether it’ll succeed.
It’s whether it can live up to the myth.
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