Heat and Miami Vice director Michael Mann is slated to direct the pilot episode (and possibly additional episodes) of HBO Max’s forthcoming series, Tokyo Vice, WarnerMedia confirmed Wednesday.
The show, which stars Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe, will follow American journalist Jake Adelstein’s firsthand account of working the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat at one of Japan’s largest newspapers, where he endeavors to uncover corruption inside of the Tokyo Vice squad and the criminal underbelly of the city. It is scripted by J.T. Rogers based on Adelstein’s memoir, Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter On The Police Beat In Japan.
Production is slated to begin in February 2020, with Mann currently on location in Japan casting and scouting. With films and series including Public Enemies, Luck and The Last of the Mohicans under Mann’s belt, Tokyo Vice viewers can expect a memorable opener to the series.
Previous reports had indicated that Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) would direct the series, but today’s announcement names Cretton only as an executive producer.