‘Miami Vice ’85’ Set Photos Show Austin Butler’s Sonny Crockett in Pastel and White as Filming Heats Up in New Jersey

Few TV series have shaped the look of an era like ‘Miami Vice‘. The original NBC drama made pastel jackets, white linen and neon-lit streets part of 1980s pop culture, and it influenced everything from fashion to filmmaking. Hollywood has been circling a new version for years, and the first real glimpses of it have now arrived.

Universal’s ‘Miami Vice ’85’ is being directed by Joseph Kosinski of ‘F1’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, with a script by Dan Gilroy of ‘Nightcrawler’. Rather than modernizing the story, the film goes back to mid-1980s Miami, drawing from the pilot episode and first season of the original series and exploring the city’s glamour and corruption. It is being filmed for IMAX.

On October 12, Universal confirmed that production is underway, sharing first-look images of Michael B. Jordan as Ricardo Tubbs and Austin Butler as Sonny Crockett. That same day, the first set photos emerged from New Jersey, giving fans an early look at Butler in costume alongside two castmates.

🚨| Three familiar faces on the streets of New Jersey 👀 Austin Butler, Danny Ramirez, and Dominic Sessa seen on the set of Miami Vice ’85 🎬 https://t.co/rOX6ELaQ03

— Miami Vice ‘85 Crave (@MiamiViceCrave) October 12, 2026

Butler was photographed filming outside Jerry’s Liquor in Wayne, New Jersey, wearing a light blue shirt, white pants and dark sunglasses. He was seen alongside Danny Ramirez and Dominic Sessa, with a strip-mall setting made over for the period, complete with potted palm trees standing in for Miami. Other photos showed Butler in a white suit stepping out of a white convertible.

Ramirez, whose casting was announced earlier, is known for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Captain America: Brave New World’. Sessa, who starred in ‘The Holdovers’, had not been publicly announced as a member of the cast before the photos surfaced. Walton Goggins, who is playing the film’s villain, was also spotted on set later that afternoon.

Oh yes, Austin Butler can rock a white suit! 👀🔥 He was spotted filming the “Miami Vice ’85" in New Jersey, appearing on set for the first time as detective James “Sonny” Crockett. (📸: Backgrid) https://t.co/FZbJbdOYHu

— ExtraTV (@extratv) October 12, 2026

Universal’s official images lean more serious than the set photos. Jordan appears in all black with a tie and a leather jacket, staring down the camera, while Butler is shown in motion in a fitted gray blazer and pants with a gun raised and a shiny gold watch on his wrist. One outlet joked that the leather jacket seems like a lot of layers for Miami weather.

The two images are a deliberate nod to the original series’ sense of style, even as they hint at a harder edge. Between the sleek tailoring and the on-location shots, the film appears to be aiming for the same mix of cool and danger that defined the franchise.

Michael B. Jordan is Tubbs. Austin Butler is Crockett. Miami Vice ’85 – now in production. https://t.co/IU9s8neqVF

— Miami Vice ’85 (@miami_vice85) October 12, 2026

The ensemble is stacked. Alongside Jordan and Butler, the film features Alden Ehrenreich, Whitney Peak, Camila Morrone, Ramirez, Andrew Schulz, Edi Gathegi, André Holland, Michael Irby as Lou Rodriguez and John Leguizamo, who is playing a cartel leader. Goggins rounds out the group as the villain.

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪 – Michael B. Jordan as Tubbs & Austin Butler as Crockett are now on the set of MIAMI VICE ’85 Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick, F1) https://t.co/nAc1dJnOOm

— 𝗕𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗕𝘂𝘇𝘇 (@BoinkBuzz) October 12, 2026

The roles of Crockett and Tubbs have been played before. Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas originated them on television, and Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx took over in Michael Mann’s 2006 film. Butler and Jordan are the latest to inherit them, with Butler’s turn as Elvis Presley and Jordan’s work in ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Sinners’ giving the project a strong awards-season pedigree.

Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler during the Miami Vice ‘85 editorial shoot. 📸 Hov420_ https://t.co/7lwIlO3ha0

— best of michael b. jordan. (@bjordanfiles) October 12, 2026

Filming began earlier this month in Wayne, New Jersey, and the production is also scheduled to shoot in New York City and Miami. The decision to use New Jersey for early scenes follows a long tradition of the region doubling for other locations on screen. It also fits the film’s emphasis on building a period world from the ground up.

The release date has shifted along the way. The film was originally announced for August 6, 2027, but it is now scheduled to hit theaters on May 19, 2028. A later date gives Kosinski more time to deliver the kind of large-scale IMAX spectacle he has become known for.

A revival of ‘Miami Vice’ carries expectations, particularly after the 2006 film took a darker, more modern approach. Setting the new film in 1985 suggests Kosinski wants to recapture the original’s sun-soaked excess rather than update it. The set photos, with their pale tones and period details, point in that direction.

For now, plot details remain closely guarded. But with filming underway, a stacked cast and a director with a record of blockbuster hits, the project is already generating the kind of buzz that suits the franchise’s reputation.

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