In probably the most incredible Friday afternoon news dumps of all time, it appears like Tom Cruise is finally beginning 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. Once I got the push notification I set free my longest yeah boy ever.
A lot of not-car-focused outlets are saying “Days of Thunder” is a little bit of a surprising alternative 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 — the truth is, I’m surprised that this hasn’t come sooner. Cruise is clearly a automobile guy and loves doing his own stunts, so the considered a contemporary NASCAR movie have to be super enticing. As THR says, this isn’t the primary time a sequel idea has been floated, but after the success of “Top Gun: Maverick” and films 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 together with his racing drama (which, like the unique 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 concept 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 would possibly have said that revisiting Top Gun was a terrible idea. I wouldn’t discount it.”
Racing movies have turn out to be rating fashionable currently, with the success of James Mangold’s 2019 picture Ford v Ferrari, Michael Mann’s less successful 2023 racing drama Ferrari, and next 12 months’s F1 — which stars Brad Pitt and is directed by Maverick helmer Joseph Kosinski (who would seemingly be the best alternative 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 much more daunting (imagine if Maverick had been released after three other fighter pilot movies), but at the least not one of the other titles specifically explore the world of NASCAR racing, which has a decidedly different Americana vibe in comparison with the more European-based world of Le Mans and Formula 1.
The largest problems for now are Cruise’s schedule. He’s currently working on the following “Mission: Inconceivable” film, a brand new Iñárritu movie, one other “Top Gun” sequel, and he’s gonna be shooting a movie in freakin’ space.
Key aspects 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 out 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 each consider a top priority).
“He’s talking [to Paramount] about Top Gun and Days of Thunder,” says a studio insider acquainted with the discussions. “It’s going to be what comes together first when it comes to a script. It is determined by the concept and, ultimately, the script.” (Cruise, sources say, has script approval over all of his projects).
There aren’t any rumors or leads as to who will likely 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 alternative, as he’s still filming the Brad Pitt–starring Formula 1 movie. I’d like to see Christopher McQuarrie take it on, though the director of essentially the most recent M:I movies is perhaps too focused on that franchise, because the upcoming eighth movie won’t be the last one anymore. I’m sure Jerry Bruckheimer will likely be involved regardless of who’s on the helm. After all, it might be awesome to see the brand new “Days of Thunder” be written and directed by newcomers or people we wouldn’t expect. Cars are for everybody, and motion movies are too.
This Article First Appeared At jalopnik.com
