Anne Hathaway is heading to the track with Tom Cruise. The Oscar winner will star opposite Cruise in the next chapter of “Days of Thunder,” with Paramount dating the sequel for June 2, 2028 — nearly 40 years after the original hit theaters.
Cruise will reprise his role as the scrappy driver Cole Trickle, while Hathaway is set to play a racecar team owner and engineer. Jonathan Levine (“Long Shot,” “Mr. Irrelevant”) is confirmed to direct, and Cruise produces alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper.
Back on the Track
Plot details remain scarce, but the movie is being built for the biggest screens possible. Variety reports the project will be shot for IMAX and released exclusively in theaters, including Dolby Cinema and 4DX. Cruise even released a promotional image over the weekend celebrating Hathaway’s casting, posing with his new co-lead on a NASCAR track.
The sequel will be shot for IMAX and released exclusively in theaters, including formats like Dolby Cinema and 4DX.
In the original 1990 film, directed by Tony Scott, Cruise’s Trickle gets recruited to a new NASCAR team by a retired racing legend played by Robert Duvall. That first film also starred Nicole Kidman, Randy Quaid and John C. Reilly.
Hathaway arrives on a hot streak. She’s had four films in theaters in 2026, including “Mother Mary,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “The Odyssey” and “The End of Oak Street,” and she’s working on a three-quel to “The Princess Diaries.” The “Days of Thunder” follow-up is also the first big franchise piece Cruise is taking on after ramping down the “Mission: Impossible” series, with another “Top Gun” movie still on his slate.
Why It Matters
For audiences who grew up on Tony Scott’s 1990 favorite, a proper sequel has been a decades-long fantasy — and pairing Cruise’s need-for-speed energy with Hathaway’s star power gives it real box office muscle. It also marks a notable shift for Cruise, whose next few years now lean on beloved IP and a return to prestige drama. If the pair can recapture even half the original’s motor-mouth charm, “Days of Thunder” 2028 could be one of the biggest rides on next decade’s calendar.
