Paramount Pictures has confirmed Anne Hathaway will join Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder 2, with the film locked for release on June 2, 2028. Cruise broke the news himself on social media, sharing a photo of the two actors leaning against a NASCAR race car in Daytona alongside the release date reveal.
The project has been fast-tracked as Cruise's next film following Paramount's decision to bring on Jonathan Levine to direct. Cruise is reprising his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle, the character he originated in the 1990 original, while Hathaway is expected to play a team owner and engineer in the follow-up. Plot specifics beyond that have not been disclosed.
The sequel will be shot for IMAX presentation and will also screen in Dolby Cinema, 4DX and other premium large formats. Cruise is producing the film alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper, with Will Staples penning the screenplay.
The original Days of Thunder, directed by the late Tony Scott and written by Robert Towne, hit theaters in the summer of 1990, grossing $82.6 million domestically and $157.9 million worldwide. Cruise starred as Cole Trickle, a hot-headed rookie stock car driver navigating personal and professional hurdles in NASCAR. Cruise conceived the story himself, and the film was produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. The cast included Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Caroline Williams and Michael Rooker. The production also marked Cruise's introduction to Nicole Kidman, who became his wife for 11 years; the pair later reunited on screen in Ron Howard's Far and Away and Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.
Hathaway arrives at the project fresh off a busy summer that included The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey and The End of Oak Street. She'll next appear in Verity, due out in October. Hathaway is represented by CAA and Entertainment 360.
Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
