The long-awaited sequel to 1990’s ‘Days of Thunder’ is has been confirmed for a 2028 release, per Tom Cruise himself. He is again set to star as Cole Trickle alongside Anne Hathaway. She is set to play the role of a team owner and engineer. 

The original film followed hotshot young racer Cole Trickle (Cruise) with a lot to learn about stock car racing as he tried to build a career in NASCAR, culminating with an epic battle for the Daytona 500 win.

The sequel film will release on June 2, 2028, and the project will be a shot for IMAX screens with an exclusive theater release, per a report from Variety. 

Jonathan Levine, known for ‘Long Shot’ and ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ is confirmed to direct the picture, with of course Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer producing alongside Tommy Harper.

Cruise is at Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale, and was a guest at the pre-race driver’s meeting on Saturday night. He also addressed the NASCAR garage at the meeting, speaking on their plans for ‘Days of Thunder 2.’

The original film remains culturally relevant to all NASCAR fans, and is often referenced even three decades later. Even 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button gave credit to the film for fostering his love of NASCAR, with the British racing star ultimately running a handful of Cup races in recent years.

 

Discussions around the sequel really heated up following the success of ‘F1’, starring Brad Pitt, which made over $600 million at the box office. Bruckheimer was also a producer for that film.

Before his tragic passing in May, NASCAR legend Kyle Busch was among those who spoke with a film writer as they worked on an outline for the new film. Busch’s nickname ‘Rowdy’ was a callback to Michael Rooker’s character from the original film. The writer spoke to various people within the industry, and also visited race shops.

Details on the Days of Thunder 2 plot are few, but it’s likely that NASCAR’s actual weekly series will play a key role in the filming of key scenes, as they did in the original.

The original Days of Thunder, which was basically the Top Gun formula with NASCAR stock cars, grossed $157.9 million against a $60 million budget. A sequel to Top Gun did incredibly well in 2022, making an astonishing $1.5 billion worldwide at the box office. 

Watch: Jenson Button attributes ‘Days of Thunder’ to love for NASCAR

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