John Leguizamo is coming off a summer in which he had a wild press tour for "The Odyssey," repeatedly criticizing Hollywood as "not an accepting place" for Latinos.
It’s only been happy times since then as he has now booked roles in the Daniels' next film, Mike Flanagan's "The Exorcist: Martyrs" and the next "Ice Age" movie, and now he has joined another major Hollywood blockbuster: Joseph Kosinski's "Miami Vice" reboot.
According to THR, Leguizamo is set to play the main villain in "Miami Vice '85." He joins a cast that already includes Michael B. Jordan, Austin Butler, Alden Ehrenreich, Whitney Peak, Camila Morrone and Danny Ramirez.
Deadline’s sources have Leguizamo playing a “cartel boss” in “Miami Vice ‘85,” which is a notable choice given what he said this summer. The actor has long criticized Hollywood for typecasting Latino performers as drug dealers, gangsters and criminals, and his press tour for "The Odyssey" centered on the industry's failure to offer Latinos fuller, more varied roles. A Latino actor playing a drug lord in a film about '80s Miami is the kind of casting he has spent years calling out.
Leguizamo is known for his breakout turn as Benny Blanco in Brian De Palma's "Carlito's Way" (1993). He played Tybalt in Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), the demonic Clown in "Spawn" (1997) and Toulouse-Lautrec in Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge!" (2001). Mainstream audiences know his voice as Sid the sloth in the "Ice Age" movies and Bruno in Disney's "Encanto" (2021).
Kosinski is directing "Miami Vice '85" from a script by Dan Gilroy, based on an earlier draft by Eric Warren Singer. Production is set to begin in October, and an IMAX release is scheduled for May 19, 2028.
The film will explore "the glamour and corruption of mid-'80s Miami," drawing inspiration from the pilot episode of the TV series. The new version reportedly preserves the characters and aesthetic that made "Miami Vice" a cultural touchstone.
It’s now been 13 years since "The Grandmaster,” and it doesn’t sound like Wong Kar-wai will be making another film in the near future. His future seems to be on the small screen.