Anne Hathaway will star opposite Tom Cruise in Paramount Pictures’ upcoming Days of Thunder sequel, which is scheduled for a June 2, 2028 theatrical release. The casting announcement quickly sparked both playful video banter from the stars and a harsh public critique from original co-star Randy Quaid.
Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway Team Up for the Long-Awaited Sequel
Nearly forty years after the original Tony Scott film was released, Tom Cruise is stepping back into the driver’s seat as the scrappy driver Cole Trickle. Paramount Pictures has dated the feature film sequel for June 2, 2028, when Cruise and Hathaway will hit the road almost 40 years after the original. The project will be shot for IMAX screens, and released exclusively in theaters for formats including Dolby Cinema and 4DX. Cruise released a promotional image celebrating Hathaway’s casting and posing with his co-lead on a NASCAR track. Jonathan Levine (“Long Shot,” “Mr. Irrelevant”) is confirmed to direct. Cruise is producing alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper.
Plot details are scarce, but Hathaway is set to play a racecar team owner and engineer. In the original, Cruise’s Trickle gets recruited into NASCAR by Quaid’s race team owner character, while Nicole Kidman played a neurosurgeon who becomes Cole’s love interest.
Squashing AI Rumors With On-Location Video
Tom Cruise’s latest Instagram post with Anne Hathaway has officially shut down Days of Thunder 2 AI rumors. Cruise recently shared a photo featuring himself and The Odyssey star to announce the sequel to his 1990 racing blockbuster, prompting some fans to question whether the image was AI-generated.
However, the Mission: Impossible actor followed up by sharing a video of the two stars together on location. In the clip, Hathaway and Cruise playfully adjust a close-up camera shot before stepping back to reveal a NASCAR race car painted with “Summer 2028” on the side.
Cruise opens the video by asking, “Now what?to which Hathaway, who is currently pregnant, jokes,
I’m gonna have this baby, and then we’re gonna make the movie.” The fun video interaction quickly quashed the AI rumors surrounding their initial photo post.
Randy Quaid Blasts the Casting Choice on X
More than 35 years later, Cole Trickle’s new leading lady has ruffled some feathers for a previous Days of Thunder co-star. After Anne Hathaway was announced to join Tom Cruise in Paramount’s Days of Thunder 2, Randy Quaid had some unsavory words for the Oscar-winning actress, who is currently pregnant with her third child. The Houston-born actor, 75, took to the social media platform following the announcement that Hathaway would co-star in the sequel to the 1990 film. Quaid, who played the role of Tim Daland in the original film, said that Hathaway’s Democrat-geared politics made her a bad fit for the racing sequel.
Anne Hathaway is a leftist, woke, horrible choice for DAYS OF THUNDER NASCAR audience who are MAGA,
Quaid said of the actress, who has in the past endorsed presidential candidates including Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
Quaid continued his tirade on X, formerly known as Twitter: We need Nicole back. Don’t be a pussy, @TomCruise. You need the original girl. It’s not personal; it’s filmmaking. Anne isn’t sexy, because and if you haven’t noticed, she’s pregnant.
After meeting on the set of the Tony Scott-helmed racing drama, Cruise was married to Kidman from 1990 to 2001. The pair, who also starred in Ron Howard’s Far and Away (1992) and Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut (1999), has not appeared onscreen together since their divorce. Quaid said that the better choice for a love interest for the sequel would be Cruise’s ex-wife Nicole Kidman.
Behind the Scenes of Potential Reunion Talks
More than two decades after their high-profile divorce, sources claim Tom Cruise is looking to reconnect with his ex-wife Nicole Kidman on the big screen. The exes, who tied the knot in 1990, starred together in the film Days of Thunder that same year, and insiders alleged discussions are underway for them to reunite in the sequel, which is officially in the works.
Tom wants it to happen. Is there room for Nicole Kidman to show up in Days of Thunder 2? Yes, and in terms of dealmaking, it's not a difficult path,
an insider spilled to National Enquirer. In the first film, Cruise, 64, portrayed a rookie NASCAR driver whose career is threatened after a serious crash, while Kidman, 59, starred as his love interest, a neurosurgeon who treats him.
