‘Miami Vice ’85’: John Leguizamo to Play the Bad Guy in Joseph Kosinski’s Crime Thriller (Exclusive)

John Leguizamo, who earned praise for his performance in Universal’s summer blockbuster The Odyssey, is returning to the studio for its big-screen take on Miami Vice.

Leguizamo has joined Miami Vice ’85, adding to the crime thriller’s cast that already includes Michael B. Jordan, Austin Butler, Alden Ehrenreich, Whitney Peak, Camila Morrone and Danny Ramirez.

Joseph Kosinski, who helmed the propulsive Top Gun: Maverick and F1, is directing the new big-screen take on the 1980s TV show, with the feature project eyeing a November production start and shoots in New York and Miami.

The new feature will explore the glamour and corruption of mid-’80s Miami in a new version of the property, inspired by the pilot episode of the landmark television series that influenced culture and set the style of everything from fashion to filmmaking.

Miami Vice began life as the Anthony Yerkovich-created TV series starring Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two undercover Miami police officers known for their love of fast boats and pastel suits.

Jordan is playing Ricardo Tubbs while Butler is playing James Crockett, the two swagger-strutting detectives.

Sources say that Leguizamo will be the piece’s main villain.

Vice ’85 will be filmed for Imax and is set for release by Universal Pictures on May 19, 2028. Producing are Dylan Clark via his Dylan Clark Productions (The Batman) and Kosinski.

Leguizamo has quietly become a member of the Universal repertoire. The actor was one of the key players in Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, in which he portrayed the blind loyal friend Eumaeus opposite Matt Damon’s Odysseus. That movie has now become the highest-grossing feature of all time for the studio with a $1.68 billion haul.

And on top of nabbing the Vice 85 role, Leguizamo has also scored a role in the studio’s untitled feature project from filmmaking duo Daniels. That one reunites him with Damon and is currently in production in L.A. Additionally, the actor appears in Universal’s The Exorcist: Martyrs, the horror reboot by Mike Flanagan that the studio will open March 12, 2027.

Leguizamo, who recently saw the release of his Scholastic children’s book Kiki and the Can, featuring special artwork by Latino graffiti artist John “Crash” Matos, is repped by UTA, Mosaic and Jackoway Austen.