The white suit is back. Following the first official images from Miami Vice ’85, set photos showed Austin Butler wearing a combination that needs no introduction for anyone who followed Sonny Crockett: light tailoring, a blue shirt, sunglasses, and that carefully calculated casualness that helped turn a television detective into a fashion reference. Alongside Michael B. Jordan, who takes over as Ricardo Tubbs, the actor faces the task of bringing back a duo whose identity was never limited to the crimes they investigated.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, of Top Gun: Maverick and F1, the new film seems to understand that part of Miami Vice’s appeal lies precisely in that visual memory. Images of Butler in the classic outfit, along with more recent shots of Jordan in a gray suit and light-colored tie, suggest a deliberate effort to recapture the protagonists’ style. We are still looking at behind-the-scenes photographs and videos, so judging the result would be premature, but the decision to return to the 1980s already sets this project apart from the previous adaptation.

Back to 1980s Miami

The title Miami Vice ’85 makes the period setting clear. The production draws inspiration from the pilot and first season of the series that turned Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas into stars. Glamour and corruption will once again be central to the story, with Crockett and Tubbs moving through a world in which luxury also serves as a front for crime.

There is an interesting challenge in this revival, because Miami Vice helped establish a way of filming television that now feels familiar. Music, clothes, cars, and scenery carried narrative weight, giving the detectives’ work an atmosphere that extended beyond the investigation of the week. Reproducing the elements that became famous may be relatively straightforward for a major production. Recapturing the impact they had when they were still new is another matter.

That is where Kosinski’s involvement becomes intriguing. With Top Gun: Maverick, he showed that he could work with the emotional attachment to a 1980s hit without relying on it exclusively. Of course, that does not guarantee the same result here, but it helps explain the choice of a director who knows how to turn speed, machinery, and imagery into a cinematic experience.

The screenplay has Dan Gilroy, of Nightcrawler, among its principal contributors. For a story that intends to move between seduction and violence, it is a promising association: his best-known film explored a character capable of turning brutality into a career opportunity. How much of that ambiguity will find its way into this new version of Crockett and Tubbs remains to be seen.

The Weight of the Previous Attempt

Miami Vice already returned to the big screen in 2006, when Michael Mann himself cast Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx in the leading roles. That film brought the characters into the present and favored a darker atmosphere, far removed from the more colorful television memories. Commercially, the result was modest given the investment: approximately $163.8 million at the worldwide box office against an estimated production budget of $135 million, before marketing costs.

The new adaptation takes a different approach by placing the characters back in the period that made them famous. That choice creates room to explore the contrast between a visually seductive city and the violent businesses sustaining part of its world. It also risks turning a once-innovative language into a collection of recognizable references. The white suit helps sell the image, but Crockett needs to exist inside it.

The cast also includes John Leguizamo, Walton Goggins, Camila Morrone, Alden Ehrenreich, Danny Ramirez, Whitney Peak, and André Holland. Leguizamo plays one of the villains and has already appeared in costume in footage from the set. His involvement has a curious connection to the franchise’s origins: the actor also appeared in the original series, decades before returning for this version.

What About “In the Air Tonight”?

For anyone who associates Miami Vice with Phil Collins’s music, the question is inevitable. The use of “In the Air Tonight” in the pilot became one of the show’s most memorable sequences, with Crockett and Tubbs driving through the night as the tension built. If the new film is drawing inspiration from that very episode, imagining a reunion with the song comes naturally, but I have yet to find confirmation that it will be on the soundtrack.

The anticipation, in any case, says a great deal about the size of the task. Few shows have left a memory so closely tied to the combination of image and music. Bringing the track back could generate instant recognition; finding a way to give it a dramatic purpose would justify the choice.

Filming also made the news for a reason unrelated to fiction. On the night of October 23, a man was arrested following an incident on the set in Brooklyn, New York. According to police information reported by the press, he was carrying a knife and allegedly threatened a crew member.

Miami Vice ’85 is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on May 19, 2028. Until then, Butler and Jordan have already provided the image the production needed to spark the curiosity of those who know the originals. What interests me is what comes after that initial recognition: whether Kosinski can make that Miami a place we want to enter again, even knowing what hides behind all its charm.