Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs are officially back on the beat. Universal Pictures released the first-look photos of Michael B. Jordan as Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs and Austin Butler as James “Sonny” Crockett in Miami Vice ’85 on Monday, October 12, 2026, according to Deadline. As for when you can see the finished product, Variety reports the film is set for a theatrical release on May 19, 2028, so clear your calendar for a very specific spring day two years from now.
The photos and the big announcement
The images did more than show off two of Hollywood’s most-watched leading men in their new roles. According to Just Jared, the photos were released to mark the official start of production on the film, which means cameras are rolling right now.
The film’s official social media account kept the caption short and let the pictures do the talking. “Michael B. Jordan is Tubbs. Austin Butler is Crockett. Miami Vice ’85 – now in production,” the @miami_vice85 account posted, as reported by Just Jared.
That is the kind of three-sentence announcement that tells you the studio knows exactly what it has. Jordan arrives with a Best Actor Oscar for Sinners already in hand, and Butler brings the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Oscar nomination he earned playing the King in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. Pairing those two as the most famous undercover duo in television history is a casting flex, and the first look is the studio’s victory lap.
Casting of Jordan and Butler had been reported by Variety in earlier months, so the news itself was not a surprise. Seeing them in character, though, is a different thing entirely.
Who is behind the camera
The creative team here is stacked. The Hollywood Reporter says Miami Vice ’85 is directed by Joseph Kosinski, the filmmaker behind Top Gun: Maverick and F1, working from a screenplay by Dan Gilroy, who wrote and directed Nightcrawler. Kosinski was attached to direct the reboot well before this week’s announcement.
He is also bringing his crew with him. According to The Wrap, Kosinski reunites with Claudio Miranda, the cinematographer who shot both F1 and Top Gun: Maverick with him, and he produces alongside Dylan Clark. Given what that trio did with fighter jets and Formula 1 cars, the prospect of them turning their lenses on 1980s Miami is a tantalizing one.
Just Jared reports the film is being shot for IMAX, which tracks. Kosinski does not make small movies, and a story set in the sun and spectacle of mid-decade Miami seems built for the biggest screen available.
Variety describes the film as an exploration of “the glamour and corruption of mid-80’s Miami,” inspired by the pilot episode and the first season of the original TV series. The title says it all. This is not a modern-day update. This is a period piece set right where the show began.
A very deep bench
Jordan and Butler are the headliners, but the supporting cast is nothing to sneeze at. Per Deadline, the ensemble includes Alden Ehrenreich, Camila Morrone, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Danny Ramirez, Andre Holland, Michael Irby, and Whitney Peak.
Edi Gathegi and Andrew Schulz are also reportedly part of the cast, according to Variety, though their names did not appear in Deadline’s cast list.
As for where all of this is happening, The Wrap reports that filming began in Wayne, New Jersey, with additional shooting planned in New York City and Miami. New Jersey standing in for Miami is a time-honored tradition in the movie business, and presumably the real thing will show up when the palm trees need to be authentic.
The backstory, for the uninitiated
The original Miami Vice premiered on NBC on September 16, 1984 and ran until 1989. Don Johnson starred as Det. James “Sonny” Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas played Det. Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs. The series was created by Anthony Yerkovich and executive produced by Michael Mann, and it became one of the defining pop culture artifacts of its decade.
Mann later took the property to the big screen himself, directing the 2006 film Miami Vice with Colin Farrell as Crockett and Jamie Foxx as Tubbs. Deadline notes that Kosinski’s film is the second movie reboot of the franchise, following that Mann effort.
So Jordan and Butler are stepping into roles with two very different sets of footprints already in the sand: the iconic original TV portrayals and the moodier, modern take from twenty years ago. Going back to 1985 feels like a deliberate choice to honor the former.
What’s next
With production underway in New Jersey and stops in New York and Miami still to come, the next year or so will likely bring the usual trickle of set photos and casting tidbits. The real payoff is still a ways off. Variety has the release date locked at May 19, 2028.
That is a long wait. But if the first look is any indication, Crockett and Tubbs are in good hands, and the people behind Top Gun: Maverick and F1 are not known for leaving audiences disappointed when they finally arrive.
