In one of the most incredible Friday afternoon news dumps of all time, it sounds like Tom Cruise is finally starting to work on a “Days of Thunder” sequel. The story was broken by The Hollywood Reporter, which said Cruise is currently in talks with Paramount surrounding production of a sequel to the 1990 NASCAR film. When I got the push notification I let out my longest yeah boy ever.
Lots of not-car-focused outlets are saying “Days of Thunder” is a bit of a surprising choice for a sequel, given how the movie only made $157 million off a $60 million budget and had mixed reviews, but I don’t think it’s surprising — in fact, I’m surprised that this hasn’t come sooner. Cruise is obviously a car guy and loves doing his own stunts, so the thought of a modern NASCAR movie must be super enticing. As THR says, this isn’t the first time a sequel idea has been floated, but after the success of “Top Gun: Maverick” and movies like “Ferrari” things have heated up.
Having revived and modernized 1984’s Top Gun with 2022’s blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, the actor believes he can work similar magic with his racing drama (which, like the original Top Gun, was a Paramount film produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott). A Thunder revival has been floated before — Paramount once pitched a reboot of the title as a TV show for Paramount+, an idea that Cruise nixed.
“I don’t think a [Days of Thunder sequel] is a terrible idea,” added the Paramount source (the studio declined to comment for this story). “You might have said that revisiting Top Gun was a terrible idea. I wouldn’t discount it.”
Racing films have become rating fashionable lately, with the success of James Mangold’s 2019 picture Ford v Ferrari, Michael Mann’s less successful 2023 racing drama Ferrari, and next year’s F1 — which stars Brad Pitt and is directed by Maverick helmer Joseph Kosinski (who would seemingly be the ideal choice to helm Thunder, but one imagines he wouldn’t be too keen on making back-to-back racing movies). The glut of recent fast-cars-on-tracks projects makes the prospect of resurrecting Thunder even more daunting (imagine if Maverick had been released after three other fighter pilot movies), but at least none of the other titles specifically explore the world of NASCAR racing, which has a decidedly different Americana vibe compared to the more European-based world of Le Mans and Formula 1.
The biggest problems for now are Cruise’s schedule. He’s currently working on the next “Mission: Impossible” film, a new Iñárritu movie, another “Top Gun” sequel, and he’s gonna be shooting a movie in freakin’ space.
Key factors include the project’s script (the studio is out to potential writers now) and the 62-year-old actor-producer’s packed schedule. Cruise is about to start shooting The Revenant filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s mysterious next film for Warner Bros./Legendary, developing a Doug Liman movie for Universal that’s set in actual space, and he’s developing a sequel to Maverick (which Cruise and Paramount both consider a top priority).
“He’s talking [to Paramount] about Top Gun and Days of Thunder,” says a studio insider familiar with the discussions. “It’s going to be what comes together first in terms of a script. It depends on the idea and, ultimately, the script.” (Cruise, sources say, has script approval over all of his projects).
There are no rumors or leads as to who will be writing the script or directing the film; it’s likely too early for those decisions to be made yet. As THR points out, it’s unlikely “Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski would do it despite being an obvious choice, as he’s still filming the Brad Pitt–starring Formula 1 movie. I’d love to see Christopher McQuarrie take it on, though the director of the most recent M:I movies might be too focused on that franchise, as the upcoming eighth movie might not be the last one anymore. I’m sure Jerry Bruckheimer will be involved no matter who is at the helm. Of course, it would be awesome to see the new “Days of Thunder” be written and directed by newcomers or people we wouldn’t expect. Cars are for everyone, and action movies are too.