Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! After teasing one of his most transformative roles for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger and dropping in on the World Cup closing ceremony, Tom Cruise could be buckling up for another exciting project by revisiting one of his most iconic features. According to reports, Cruise is in talks to reprise his role as the feisty race car driver Cole Trickle in a Days of Thunder sequel!
Another lap around the track
Paramount wants Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies) to direct Days of Thunder 2, which has Cruise producing alongside Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the 1990 original. The late Tony Scott directed Cruise’s classic NASCAR drama about a hot, new driver who gets his chance to compete at the top level after being recruited by a seasoned vet named Harry Hogge, played by the late, legendary Robert Duvall. The 1990 classic also starred Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Michael Rooker, and Nicole Kidman, to whom Cruise was married for 11 years. The couple met on the Days of Thunder set.
Can Days of Thunder 2 make that Top Gun: Maverick magic?
Whispers about Cruise returning for Days of Thunder 2 began circulating in November, 2024, with today’s director news taking the project up a gear. The Days of Thunder sequel marks Cruise’s return to another beloved Hollywood blockbuster after reprising his role as Capt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell for Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick. Kosinski’s Top Gun sequel is often credited with “rescuing” the box office after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated ticket sales and struck fear into moviegoers’ hearts. Maverick banked close to $1.5 billion at the global box office, a total that sent shockwaves throughout the film industry. Maverick was a rare post-pandemic phenomenon that brought adult audiences back to cinemas in droves during the COVID era. After its release, audiences were slightly more comfortable returning to cinemas, though theaters continue to feel the sting of the pandemic’s effects.
What do you think about Cruise teaming up with Jonathan Levine for a Days of Thunder sequel? Will any other stars from the original film reprise their roles for a second lap around the track? Is there another Tom Cruise movie that deserves another chapter? Cocktail? Minority Report? Let us know in the comments section below.
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