Austin Butler And Michael B. Jordan Are Starring In A Reboot Of The Coolest '80s Show Ever

Pop culturally, nothing screams the 1980s more than Michael Mann and Anthony Yerkovich's "Miami Vice." The NBC crime drama brazenly brought a hip, MTV-esque aesthetic to the procedural genre. By leaning heavily on the title city's garish, neon-lit style and employing needle-drop music cues from some of the hottest artists of the era, it was must-watch television for most of its five-season run. And now it's coming back in big, blustery Hollywood fashion.

Deadline is reporting that Austin Butler has been cast as Detective Sonny Crockett (the role that launched Don Johnson's career) opposite Michael B. Jordan as Detective Ricardo Tubbs (immortalized by Philip Michael Thomas) in a new movie adaptation directed by Joseph Kosinski. The script was initially written by Eric Michael Singer ("Top Gun: Maverick"), but was handed over to Dan Gilroy ("Nightcrawler," "Andor") earlier this year. Deadline says the film is expected to start shooting in late 2026 ahead of a currently slated August 6, 2027 release date.

The "Miami Vice" brand has never stopped exuding cool, but, commercially, it was somewhat damaged by Mann's 2006 film, which grossed a disappointing $164 million globally against a $150 million budget. Mann's movie is aces, but moviegoers evidently weren't turned on by the pairing of Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx (Farrell himself is not a fan). It's hard to imagine a buzzier trio than Butler, Jordan, and Kosinski, all of whom are red hot after a string of hits, but the project has added juice thanks to a very savvy creative decision.

According to Deadline, Kosinski's "Miami Vice" will take place in the 1980s. This could cut either way, but I am all for seeing Butler and Jordan sport those finely tailored pastel fashions. If they're going this route, they need Butler to rock Johnson's stubbly look (which was such a big deal that men were going to work sporting five o'clock shadow like they'd just crawled out of a liquor bottle, and getting away with it).

If you're a Joseph Kosinski fan, you might wonder what this means for the "F1" director's untitled UFO movie that he's making with producer Jerry Bruckheimer for Apple. It's supposed to be a mega-budget "All the President's Men"-style investigative thriller, but, while he did discuss the project during the "F1" press tour, there's been no casting news or hint of a release date.

Kosinski is in his creative prime, so it's certainly possible that the UFO movie could get fast-tracked any day now without jeopardizing the start date of "Miami Vice." While we're waiting to see how this pans out, let's listen to one of the greatest TV theme songs of all time on a loop.