A night of filming for the Miami Vice reboot turned frightening in Brooklyn late Friday when a 23-year-old man allegedly ran onto the set, pulled a butcher knife from his sweatshirt, and threatened a member of the production staff before an officer slapped on handcuffs at 11:17 p.m.
Alex Perez allegedly began disrupting filming on the set of “Miami Vice '85” around 11 p.m. Friday, running across the scene before the confrontation escalated, according to TMZ. Police were called after Perez allegedly brandished the knife and threatened one of the production staffers, the outlet reported, and he was ultimately charged with menacing with a weapon in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
Exclusive video obtained by the outlet showed Perez being escorted off the set by a staffer moments before he pulled the large knife from his sweatshirt pocket, scaring the crew in the process. TMZ's report also notes that Perez has five prior arrests tied to alleged gang-related activities, assault with a firearm, and burglary, though no court records were made available to independently confirm those details.
A High-Profile Shoot in an Unlikely Borough
The chaos unfolded on the set of a buzzy reboot of the 1980s crime franchise, with Michael B. Jordan starring in the gritty drama alongside Austin Butler, per the same TMZ report. According to Variety, Jordan plays Ricardo Tubbs and Butler plays Sonny Crockett in the film, which is directed by Joseph Kosinski and reimagines the popular ‘80s detective show that ran from 1984 to 1989.
Variety reports that the Jordan-Butler reboot had only recently begun filming when the first-look images dropped, with the finished movie slated to hit theaters on May 19, 2028. Production has ranged well beyond Brooklyn, with filming also taking place in Wayne, New Jersey, and Manhattan, according to 4Filming.
New Jersey Set Got a Retro Makeover
Before cameras rolled in Brooklyn, the production brought its 1980s aesthetic to the Preakness Shopping Center in Wayne, New Jersey, where storefronts and vehicles were transformed to reflect the movie's period setting, per News 12 New Jersey. That multi-borough, multi-state footprint underscores just how sprawling the production has become as it chases the look and feel of 1980s Miami across the New York metro area.
It remains unclear whether Friday night's incident caused any delay to the Brooklyn shoot or what specific location within the borough was used for filming. What is confirmed is the timeline of the arrest itself: an officer on scene took Perez into custody at 11:17 p.m., closing out a tense scene on what was supposed to be just another night of recreating Miami's neon-soaked crime era on the streets of New York.
