Anne Hathaway, Tom Cruise Set for ‘Days of Thunder’ Sequel in 2028
Anne Hathaway will star opposite Tom Cruise in Paramount Pictures’ sequel to Days of Thunder, bringing a new leading actor into the franchise nearly four decades after the original racing film reached theaters.
Cruise and Hathaway announced the project on Saturday, Aug. 29, with Cruise posting a promotional image of the pair at Daytona International Speedway alongside a race car carrying the Days of Thunder branding. Paramount has scheduled the sequel for June 2, 2028. The movie will be filmed for IMAX and is planned as a theatrical release.
Cruise will return as Cole Trickle, the fictional NASCAR driver he played in the 1990 original. Hathaway is set to play a race-car team owner and engineer, according to Variety’s reporting cited by multiple outlets. The film will mark the first time Cruise and Hathaway have appeared together on screen.
Cruise returns to the racetrack
The original Days of Thunder, directed by Tony Scott, followed Trickle as he entered the NASCAR world and tried to establish himself as a competitive stock-car driver. The cast included Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid and John C. Reilly.
The sequel arrives almost 40 years after that film. Cruise is again producing, this time alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper. Bruckheimer also produced the original movie.
Jonathan Levine is directing the new film from a screenplay by Will Staples. Levine’s involvement was reported in July, when Paramount was moving the project forward with Cruise attached to reprise Cole Trickle. At that stage, details of the story and additional casting were still being kept private.
The project has now moved beyond that earlier development stage with Hathaway’s casting and the announcement of a firm theatrical release date.
Hathaway takes on a racing role
Hathaway’s character is expected to have a direct connection to the racing operation, playing both a team owner and engineer. Details about the character, including her relationship with Trickle, have not been publicly disclosed.
The announcement came as Cruise and Hathaway appeared together at Daytona International Speedway. The image released by Cruise shows the actors beside a car carrying the familiar green-and-yellow visual identity associated with Trickle from the original film.
Cruise and Hathaway also appeared in a short announcement video. The project is being positioned as another return to one of Cruise’s established franchises, following his recent work revisiting Top Gun and Mission: Impossible.
The strategy has already produced one major result for Cruise and Paramount. Top Gun: Maverick, released in 2022, brought Cruise back as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell 36 years after the original Top Gun. The film became a global box-office hit and earned a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards.
Release plans are now set
Paramount has set June 2, 2028, for the Days of Thunder sequel. The production is being designed for large-format presentation, including IMAX, with reports also indicating planned theatrical formats such as Dolby Cinema and 4DX.
The announcement does not yet reveal the film’s plot or explain how Cole Trickle’s story will connect with Hathaway’s character. Those details remain under wraps.
What is clear is that the sequel will return to the racing world of the original while introducing a new central character nearly four decades after Cruise first played Trickle.
For now, Paramount has confirmed the principal creative team, Cruise’s return, Hathaway’s casting, and the 2028 release date. Further production and story details have not been announced.
