DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tom Cruise will reprise his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle in a follow-up to “Days of Thunder.” Cruise made the announcement from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, hours before NASCAR’s regular-season finale. Anne Hathaway will co-star as a team owner and engineer in the film scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures on June 2, 2028. Cruise will serve as a producer alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper. Jonathan Levine is set to direct the script written by Will Staples. The Hollywood Reporter reported in November 2024 that Cruise had talked to Paramount about a follow-up to his 1990 NASCAR racing film. The original was a critically panned summer blockbuster that was largely lampooned throughout the NASCAR industry for its exaggeration and overindulgence. It has since become a cult favorite in NASCAR circles and is still quoted by race fans to this day. “Rubbin’, son, is racin’” — the immortal line from crew chief Harry Hogge, played by Robert Duvall — lives on. Riding high from his “Top Gun” fame, Cruise had an idea for a movie based on fast cars and the characters who raced them. And so began the making of “Days of Thunder.” Cole Trickle was loosely based on the late NASCAR driver Tim Richmond. Four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, now vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, has openly lobbied for Cruise to bring a “Days of Thunder” sequel to life. Gordon and Cruise have become friends over the years — Cruise showed up at a 2015 NASCAR banquet to honor the retiring Gordon — which could boost the prospect of Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports’ involvement in a sequel. The movie introduced NASCAR to a wider audience that had very limited exposure to stock-car racing before that summer. There had been racing movies before — think “Thunder Road,” “Grand Prix,” “Stroker Ace,” or even “Smokey and the Bandit” — but none that had depicted NASCAR in such a mainstream style. NASCAR has seen more swings and misses than checkered flags when it comes to its portrayal on the big or small screen since “Days of Thunder.” For every “Talladega Nights,” there are 10 more bombs such as comedian Kevin James’ ill-fated Netflix’s comedy series, “ The Crew.” ___ Mark Long, The Associated Press
