Miami Vice ’85 Hits the Brakes—Premiere Pushed to Summer 2028

If you were getting hyped about seeing Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler rocking pastel suits and cruising neon-lit Miami streets any time soon, I've got bad news: Universal just punted Miami Vice '85 all the way into 2028. Not exactly a minor shuffle—think more 'see you in four years, maybe?' than 'just a slight delay'.

The Reboot Rundown

In case you missed it, Miami Vice '85 is Universal's attempt to revive the iconic '80s cop show that basically invented cool for a generation. Here’s the brass tacks:

• Cast: Michael B. Jordan as Rico Tubbs and Austin Butler as James 'Sonny' Crockett. (So, two of the most charismatic guys working right now, which is not a bad start.)
• Director: Joseph Kosinski, the guy who made Top Gun: Maverick go supersonic.
• Writers: Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler) and Eric Warren Singer (Only the Brave).
• Setting: Unlike Michael Mann’s gritty 2006 movie—which I’ll get to in a second—this one leans hard into the '80s vibe.

The Delay Drama

This flick was supposed to hit theaters August 6, 2027. Now, it’s been kicked to May 19, 2028—a full nine months later. That date swap is a bit of a domino effect within Universal’s line-up: The Mummy 4 slides up to October 15, 2027, freeing up the summer slot for Miami Vice '85. The original August slot isn’t empty though—Universal’s just calling it an 'Untitled Event film' for now, which is classic Hollywood vagueness.

By dropping into mid-May, Miami Vice '85 is now dead in the middle of summer movie madness. Two weeks before, there’s an Untitled Marvel Movie (strong rumors it could finally be the MCU’s X-Men), and just one week earlier we'll see Final Destination 7 arrive. Then, one week after Crockett and Tubbs hit the big screen, Disney rolls out Lilo & Stitch 2 for Memorial Day weekend. So, the competition is, in a word, stacked.

This Isn’t the First Time They've Tried a Reboot

You might recall that Michael Mann tried to bring 'Miami Vice' to the big screen back in 2006, this time with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx taking over for Johnson and Thomas. Reviews? Not pretty: Rotten Tomatoes has it sitting at 47% for critics and 43% with audiences. It made $164 million at the box office, but on a budget of $135 million, that’s not exactly blowing the doors off.

Universal's TV Show Remix Spree

Universal isn’t just banking on Miami Vice. They’re apparently on a nostalgia bender with a few other TV classics:

• Jamie Lee Curtis is set to headline a Murder, She Wrote reboot. That one’s also delayed—now dropping on February 4, 2028, a few months before the new Miami Vice.
• The Knight Rider reboot is in the works with the Cobra Kai creators attached. No release date on that one yet, but it’s happening.

The Big Picture

If you were drawing up your 2027 summer movie calendar in pen, time to grab an eraser. Here’s how it shakes out for Miami Vice '85:

'The star power of Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler, plus Kosinski’s action chops, make this one to watch—but with that crowded summer line-up, Universal is going to have to fight for every eyeball.'

Bottom line: Crockett and Tubbs are coming back, but you're going to need patience. And probably a new calendar by then.