Director Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) has “F1” reeving up this summer with Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, and Damson Idris, but is also gearing up to take on a new iteration of “Miami Vice” for Universal Pictures.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Kosinski is teaming with “Nightcrawler” and “The Bourne Legacy” screenwriter Dan Gilroy for the new pic, which Kosinski is expected to direct when he’s finished with his untitled UFO pic at Apple Original Films. Although there isn’t any mention of whether this will be a continuation or a hard reboot, for the moment, we should just assume the latter.
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Of course, the original Anthony Yerkovich-created TV series “Miami Vice” from the 1980s starring Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas was spearheaded by producer Michael Mann. However, Mann never ended up directing episodes and instead would take on a feature film reboot in 2006 starring Colin Farrell, Jaime Foxx, Gong Li, Naomie Harris, Ciaran Hinds, John Ortiz, Justin Theroux, Dominic Lombardozzi, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Barry Shabaka Henley, John Hawkes, and Eddie Marsan.
Crockett and Tubbs (played by Farrell and Foxx in the last feature film) lead the two-hander as they navigate the criminal underworld of the city of Miami for the Miami Police Department as elite undercover officers who use high-tech tactics to confuse their criminal prey and further embed themselves in various illegal capers, including a billion-dollar drug cartel’s operation and human trafficking rings in the United States. They’re also known for their love for super-fast cigarette boats, clubs, expensive suits, and high-end cars, most of that used to help with their cover.
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While it’s odd that Mann wouldn’t want to return to his material with a modern spin, he’s busy putting on finishing touches on a “Heat 2” script for Warner Bros. with reports that Adam Driver and Austin Butler are wanted for key roles in the prequel/sequel story that was previously published as a novel co-written by Mann and Meg Gardiner.
Whatever the case, Kosinski should be able to make an intense crime thriller, and we’ll be extremely curious to see who they’ll want to play this next group of “Miami Vice” cops, as plenty of young actors could inhabit those parts.
