Tom Cruise Is So Great At Playing A Villain, And I Hope That Means The Rumors Are True

Throughout his career, Tom Cruise has played some of the most unforgettable heroes in iconic ‘80s classics, characters you just love to hate in great ‘90s flicks, and has been a staple of one of the biggest action movie franchises of our time. During that stretch, he’s also been so great at playing a villain, even though you can count his bad guys with one hand: the silver-haired hitman Vincent in Collateral and the foul-mouthed Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder.

Well, if a certain rumor about Joseph Kosinski’s upcoming Miami Vice movie proves to be true, we will be able to add another villain to that list. Nothing is confirmed at the time of this writing, but I really hope these rumors are true. I mean, the Hollywood icon has a clean 1.000 batting average when it comes to playing evil characters, and it’s about time we see more of it.

So, What's Going On With Tom Cruise In Miami Vice

In March 2026, DanielRPK (via World of Reel) reported that Tom Cruise is being eyed to play the villain in the F1 director’s hotly anticipated adaptation of Miami Vice, one of the coolest shows of all time. Again, this is nothing more than speculation and should be treated as such until anyone from Universal Pictures or the production itself comments in an official capacity.

That being said, the idea of Cruise playing the antagonist in a crime flick set in 1980s Miami just seems like something that will work and that everyone will be excited about. He’d be dynamic, has potential to be a big threat, and would probably look cold as ice being the foil for Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs down on South Beach. This is especially true if word is correct that Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler are leading this one. It basically writes itself…

This Would Be Cruise's First Villainous Role In Years

There’s a healthy list of actors who primarily play villains that includes everyone from Mads Mikkelsen to Hugo Weaving to Vincent D’Onfrio. Know who you won’t find on that list? Tom Cruise. Over the years, he’s only played two villains (well, three, if you include his borderline sociopath Frank T.J. Mackey to be an antagonist), which is a random factoid I’ve always found quite peculiar. Even legendary actors like Harrison Ford and the the late Robert Redford played the bad guy on a handful of occasions.

For one reason or another, Cruise has largely fallen into the classic “white hat” camp or the strong yet conflicted antihero category, which I’ve always found quite baffling. If I’m being honest, his performance as Vincent in Collateral not only makes the 2004 Michael Mann thriller a good movie, it makes it one of the best of the 2000s. The way he used his charm, swagger, and sophistication to pull off one of the most dangerous villains of the 21st century is something I still champion 20-plus years later. I mean, the briefcase scene alone is reason enough for Cruise to play a villain again. Don’t even get me started with the final showdown on the metro.

Then there’s his work as Les Grossman, the overbearing, enraged, sweaty, dancing antagonist from Tropic Thunder. Though not as cool, calm, or sophisticated as the mysterious Vincent, this Hollywood producer from the outrageously funny 2008 comedy is, honestly, one of Cruise’s best performances. He lost himself in the role, so much so that I often forget that it’s Maverick behind all that makeup and body hair. There’s word we might be getting more Grossman in the future, and I wouldn’t be mad about it.

Cruise Has The Personality And On-Screen Presence To Pull This Off

This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has watched a movie over the past 40-plus years, but Cruise has an on-screen presence that is in a league of its own. When you think of a Hollywood star, chances are his face is one of the first to come to mind. That being said, he has the personality and attention-grabbing qualities to make a killer, unforgettable, and fun-to-watch villain.

I know I keep going back to the Collateral well (in my defense, I don’t have much else to go on), but his portrayal of Vincent worked so well because it played on our perception of Cruise at that point in his career. Coming off of Minority Report and The Last Samurai, his villainous performance came in like a curveball off the plate when we were expecting a fastball in the middle. His combination of on-screen presence and defying expectations led to a masterful performance, and I think he can do something like that again.

This Is Just One Reason I'm Excited For The Post-M:I Stage Of Cruise's Career

The prospect of Cruise showing up in Miami Vice as a villain is just one of the reasons I’m excited for his career coming off the eighth and final Mission: Impossible movie. Don’t get me wrong, the M: I franchise is one of my favorites, and I’ve always gotten down with Ethan Hunt’s increasingly dangerous feats. It’s just that Cruise can start doing other wild and unpredictable things in front of the camera now that he’s not running all the time.

Not a whole lot has been announced (I’m still holding onto the idea of an F1 sequel with Cruise), but he is set to appear in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger near the end of the 2026 movie schedule. A lot of the finer details are being kept secret at this point, but the movie from the director of Birdman, The Revenant, and Amores Perros seems like it’s going to be wild, fantastical, and an Oscar hopeful. Then there’s that long-in-the-works space movie where the actor is said to be going into actual orbit. Who knows, maybe he’ll find a balance of offbeat films and big spectacles as he enters the next stage of his career.

There’s still a great deal of mystery surrounding Miami Vice and its cast, but I suspect that will change sooner rather than later.