Miami Vice Movie Reboot Returns to the 1980s with 2027 Release Date

The neon-soaked streets of Miami are gearing up for another high-octane ride: Miami Vice is officially returning to the big screen. Universal Pictures has confirmed that Joseph Kosinski, best known for directing Top Gun: Maverick and the Formula 1 racing drama F1, will helm the reboot, which is set for release on August 6, 2027.

Unlike the 2006 adaptation, this new iteration will firmly root itself in the mid-1980s, the very era that made the original television series a pop culture phenomenon.

The production is scheduled to kick off in 2026, with Kosinski teaming up with producer Dylan Clark (The Batman) and writers Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler, Andor) and Eric Singer (American Hustle). Universal promises that the movie will be shot in IMAX, a choice signaling its ambition to deliver sweeping visuals alongside the grit of undercover policing. The creative team is intent on capturing not only the flash of pastel blazers and Ferrari Testarossas but also the darker undercurrents of drug trafficking, corruption, and betrayal that defined Miami in the 1980s.

For fans of the franchise, the return to the 80s is not just nostalgic window dressing – it’s a structural decision. The television show, created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann, was as much about the atmosphere and cultural moment as it was about detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. By setting the film in the same period, Kosinski has an opportunity to explore Miami’s transformation into both a paradise of excess and a hub of international crime syndicates. Early reports suggest the film will draw heavily from the show’s first season, especially the pilot episode “Brother’s Keeper,” which introduced Tubbs as a New York cop on a personal mission to avenge his brother’s death, ultimately joining forces with Crockett.

One figure who loomed large over that first season, Colombian cartel boss Esteban Calderone, could once again provide the backbone of the narrative. Calderone’s operations stretched from New York to the Bahamas, intertwining with the personal tragedies of both Crockett and Tubbs. If Kosinski’s team follows that thread, the film might strike a balance between the emotional weight of revenge and the adrenaline rush of undercover stings. It’s worth noting that even Michael Mann’s 2006 film leaned on material from the show’s first year, including the iconic “Smuggler’s Blues” episode, though Mann opted for a modern-day setting that divided audiences.

The 2006 Miami Vice movie, starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell, remains a divisive entry. While its stark, moody cinematography has earned it a cult following over time, initial reviews were mixed, and box office numbers underwhelmed. For many viewers, the absence of the 80s aesthetic was a dealbreaker. Kosinski’s reboot, by contrast, seems designed to embrace everything that made the show unique: from the soundtrack-driven montages and pastel-soaked fashion to the moral ambiguity that blurred the line between lawmen and criminals.

Fans online have already expressed their hopes – and fears. Many are pleading for the production to avoid turning it into a modernized update, insisting the series only works when drenched in 80s excess. Others point to Kosinski’s track record of balancing spectacle with character, noting how he revived Top Gun for a new generation without losing its core DNA. With Dan Gilroy co-writing, expectations are high that the reboot will deliver both style and substance.

Whether Miami Vice can capture lightning in a bottle once more remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: come August 2027, audiences will once again cruise down Ocean Drive under neon lights, where danger and glamour collide in unforgettable fashion.