Miami Vice ’85 is already becoming a viral hit on social media, even while it’s still in production. Stars Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler have been causing a buzz with their throwback looks to play Ricardo Tubbs and Sonny Crockett (respectively), while director Joseph Kosinski (F1: The Movie, Top Gun: Maverick, Tron: Legacy) looks to have nailed the cooler-than-ice look and vibe of the classic Miami Vice TV series. It’s already setting a vibe that could blow up into full-on ’80s nostalgia by the time the film hits theaters in the summer of 2028.
I had the chance to speak with Miami Vice ’85 star John Leguizamo during the press junket for his upcoming Audible series Exoplanet, writer Benjamin Percy’s (Marvel’s Ghost Rider) time-bending sci-fi thriller, in which he plays Science Officer Logan Bowers, a crew member on a ship that crashes on an alien world, alongside characters voiced by Anthony Mackie (Avengers: Doomsday) and Ariana DeBose (West Side Story). While discussing the sci-fi series, I couldn’t help but notice Leguizamo sporting a thick, Tom Selleck-style mustache, and I had to ask if it was for Miami Vice ’85 – and indeed it was.
Leguizamo let me know that his villain role in Miami Vice ’85 wouldn’t just be a throwback to roles like Benny Blanco in Carlito’s Way: It’s a 40-year, full-circle moment for him, tracing from the original Miami Vice series to a legacy role in this new film.
“Yeah, the ‘stache is for that ’85 look,” Leguizamo confirmed. “You know, I am so thrilled to be in this full-circle moment, because, you know, when I started as a young man, my first acting gig, my first paycheck was Miami Vice in 1986. I played the character I’m playing now, his son, to avenge his father’s death, and now I’m playing the father, you know, 40-odd years later.”
Miami Vice‘s pilot episode introduced the villain Esteban Calderone (Miguel Piñero), a drug lord and head of the Calderone cartel. He was the show’s first major antagonist until Crockett and Tubbs took him down, with Crockett ending the drug lord’s life. Leguizamo made his onscreen debut in Seasons 2 and 3 of Miami Vice as “Orlando Calderone,” the drug lord’s son (in the September 19, 1986 episode “Sons and Lovers”). He and Tubbs had an arc where Orlando sought revenge for his father’s death – as well as Tubbs having a child with his half-sister, Angelina. Angelina was eventually killed, and Tubbs went off to an island for a showdown that ended with Orlando and his men dead, and the Calderone threat ended for good.
Now, 40 years later, John Leguizamo is back to Esteban Calderone, in what even he thinks is one of the wilder circular casting moments ever. He initially looked at his role as Orlando as a step down from his theater work (“It was a different time where theater people really looked down on TV acting”); now it’s led to a major villain role in a huge film. “It’s such a full-circle moment,” he acknowledged. “And yes, you’re gonna feel tingles, man.”
The cast of Miami Vice ’85 is also nothing to sneeze at: in addition to Jordan and Butler, the film will feature Alden Ehrenreich (Weapons), Danny Ramirez (Captain America: Brave New World), Andrew Schulz (Street Fighter), Edi Gathegi (Superman), Walton Goggins (Fallout), Michael Irby (Mayans M.C.) and Haley Lu Richardson (The White Lotus).
Miami Vice ’85 has a release date of May 19, 2028. Expolanet will release on Audible on November 5th.
