A Neon Crime Epic and a River Nightmare: Universal Debuts “Miami Vice ’85” and “River”
Universal Pictures unveiled first looks at two upcoming films, each an entirely different cinematic experience, but both packing serious heat.
Miami Vice ’85 (slated for release on May 19, 2028)
Yesterday, we got our first glimpse of Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler as Ricardo Tubbs and James ‘Sonny’ Crockett in Joseph Kosinski’s Miami Vice ’85. Kosinski, the director behind two recent supercharged blockbusters, Top Gun: Maverick and F1, seems like an ideal fit to take us back to the mean streets of mid-80s Miami. Not only is Kosinski working with two of the hottest stars in Hollywood, Jordan and Butler, but he’s surrounded them with a superb cast—John Leguizamo (fresh off his incredible turn as Eumaeus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey), Walton Goggins, Dominic Sessa, Camila Morrone, Alden Ehrenreich, Whitney Peak, Danny Ramirez, and Edi Gathegi.
The Miami ’85 script comes from writers Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler, Andor) and Kosinski’s longtime collaborator, Eric Warren Singer (Top Gun: Maverick, American Hustle). Kosinski is also re-teaming with his Maverick cinematographer, Claudio Miranda, and production designer, Jeremy Hindle.
Miami Vice ’85 will hew closer to the original series, with Crockett and Tubbs going undercover to infiltrate and dismantle South Florida’s criminal syndicates. It’s reportedly inspired by the pilot of the iconic Universal Television series, which immersed viewers in a glamorous, dangerous world of nocturnal Miami. That pilot, the 1984 episode “Brother’s Keeper,” features Crockett and Tubbs driving a black Ferrari Daytona Spyder through the neon-lit streets of Miami, set to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” It was, quite simply, a groundbreaking moment in television. It seems Kosinski has set himself the goal of giving movie audiences a similar experience.
River (Slated for release on January 17, 2027)
For writer/director Joshua Giuliano, River’s conceit is devilishly simple. Two estranged sisters, Lucy (Jane Levy) and Carla (Jessica Rothe), reunite under sad circumstances—to scatter their father’s ashes in his happiest place, a remote river. This plan turns into a nightmare when their boat dies and their cellphones go dark, and they spot someone standing and staring at them from the shoreline. The hunt begins as the sisters must band together to survive the pursuit of a masked lunatic (played by Dane DiLiegro).
The producers know a thing or two about horror—they previously backed both Kane Parsons’ Backrooms and Curry Barker‘s Obsession. Now, Giuliano’s slasher film aims to join their ranks. Check out the trailer here:
Featured image: L-r: Michael B. Jordan is Ricardo Tubbs and Austin Butler is James ‘Sonny’ Crockett in “Miami Vice ’85.” Courtesy of Universal Pictures.
