Joseph Kosinski is betting the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ playbook can revive another piece of 1980s cool, and the first images trade pastel for grit.
Joseph Kosinski already proved once that a 1980s brand could be turned into a modern blockbuster. Now Universal has released the first look at his next attempt, and the Miami Vice ’85 first look suggests he is not interested in nostalgia for its own sake. Austin Butler‘s Sonny Crockett and Michael B. Jordan‘s Rico Tubbs look less like a pastel postcard and more like two cops who have not slept in a week.
Jordan appears bearded and stern in a leather jacket as Det. Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs. Butler, as Det. James “Sonny” Crockett, is caught mid-aim in a gray suit. Fans hoping for Don Johnson’s famous white jacket and T-shirt combination will have to wait, though it is hard to imagine Kosinski making an entire Miami Vice movie without it showing up at some point.
The muted palette is telling. The original NBC series, which ran from 1984 to 1989, was defined by its look as much as its stories, and executive producer Michael Mann’s neon-and-pastel style changed what television could look like. These images point toward something closer to Mann’s later work, moodier and more grounded, which may be a deliberate signal that this is a crime thriller first and a period piece second.
Kosinski is directing from a script by Dan Gilroy, the writer-director of Nightcrawler, a pairing that combines blockbuster craft with a writer known for nocturnal, morally murky crime stories. The supporting cast is stacked: Alden Ehrenreich, Camila Morrone, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Danny Ramirez, Andre Holland, Michael Irby and Whitney Peak.
The leads are the real draw. Jordan is coming off Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s original vampire hit, and Butler earned an Oscar nomination for Elvis. Pairing two of the most bankable actors under 40 is the kind of casting that turns a reboot into an event.
Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide by updating an 80s property without winking at it, and Universal clearly hopes lightning strikes twice. The cautionary tale is Mann’s own 2006 Miami Vice film with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, a moody, expensive feature that disappointed both critics and audiences on release before finding a cult following.
The studio has also given itself time. Universal moved Miami Vice ’85 from August 2027 to Friday, May 19, 2028, putting it in the early summer corridor, where Maverick also opened. The film is in production now.
