1980s-set Miami Vice movie confirms Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler
Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler will headline a Miami Vice remake which, this time, will keep it set in the 1980s. As it should be.
When you think of the 1980s, you don’t tend to think of glamour.
But the decade had its own kind of glitz – a maximalist, shiny and polyester-laden form of glitz – and there’s no other time period that remotely compares.
The upcoming Miami Vice reboot officially has its cast, a title and a release date, and unlike the 2006 movie with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, this will be set firmly in the 1980s. It’s even in the name, Miami Vice ’85.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Expect boxy white suits, garish-patterned ties and that iconic Ferrari Testarossa.
Austin Butler and newly minted Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan are on board as Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs, the two detectives made famous in the 1980s series with Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas.
The show ran from 1984 to 1988, and an apocryphal tale from that time is that it was born from the then president of American network NBC, Brandon Tartikoff who wrote “MTV cops” on a serviette and enlisted Hills Street Blues producer Anthony Yerkovich to make it real.
The show had a signature style of pop colours, contemporary music and a sense of excitement. Executive producer Michael Mann, who also directed the 2006 movie, famously banned “earth tones” from the show’s visual palette.
While the vibes were more important than the writing, the stories were often dramatic and sensational, involving corruption, drug cartels, the FBI, the Japanese Yakuza gangs and even the IRA, and for an American network series of that time, very sexualised.
It was hugely popular in its early seasons, and went on to influence video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, according to its executive producer Sam Houser.
In addition to staying true to the original era, the film remake also appears to be faithful to its story. The plotline will reportedly be inspired by the pilot episode and the first season of the TV show.
The original series kicked off with the death of Crockett’s former partner (played by a young Jimmy Smits) in a car bombing, and through that investigation, he meets Tubbs, a New York City detective.
Joseph Kosinski will helm as director and given his experience on Top Gun: Maverick and the F1 movie, you know he will have the action and highway chase sequences down. And now that he’s conquered the skies and the roads, let’s see what he can do on the water.
It wouldn’t be Miami Vice without a jet boat pursuit.
The movie is set to start filming later this year and is slated for an August 2027 release.
