Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway have surprised fans with an unexpected Hollywood collaboration. The two stars are set to appear together in a new Days of Thunder movie.
Paramount Pictures and the actors announced the project on Saturday. The announcement brings Cruise’s legendary NASCAR character Cole Trickle back to cinemas.
The new film will arrive more than three decades after the original movie. The project also marks Cruise and Hathaway’s first collaboration on a film.
Hathaway will reportedly play a team owner and engineer. Cruise will reprise his role and also serve as a producer.
Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper will join Cruise as producers. The project is expected to combine high-speed racing with a new storyline.
New Days of Thunder Movie Gets IMAX Release
The upcoming film will be directed by Jonathan Levine. His previous directing credits include Warm Bodies, 50/50 and Long Shot.
Will Staples has written the screenplay for the new racing movie. The production is also being planned with large-format cinema audiences in mind.
The film will be shot for IMAX. It is currently scheduled to reach theatres on June 2, 2028.
Paramount celebrated the announcement with a photograph of the two stars. Cruise and Hathaway posed together at Daytona International Speedway.
They were pictured beside a green race car during the announcement. The actors also shared a video confirming their new project.
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Cruise Returns to His Iconic Racing Role
The original Days of Thunder was released in 1990. Tony Scott directed the film, which starred Cruise as Cole Trickle.
The cast also included Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Michael Rooker and Cary Elwes. The movie focused on the intense world of professional NASCAR racing.
The film also played an important role in Nicole Kidman’s career. It helped introduce her to a wider international audience.
Tom Cruise reportedly shows little reaction after Suri changes surname
Kidman also met Cruise while working on the original film. Their collaboration became one of the most notable aspects of the movie’s history.
The sequel now gives Cruise an opportunity to revisit the character decades later. It also introduces Hathaway to the franchise in a major new role.
Tom Cruise Has Successfully Revived Classic Franchises
Cruise has already demonstrated his ability to revive established movie franchises. His biggest recent example came with Top Gun: Maverick.
The film arrived 36 years after the original Top Gun. It became a global blockbuster and earned more than $1.5 billion worldwide.
The movie also received a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. Its success demonstrated the continued appeal of Cruise’s classic characters.
The new Days of Thunder project could follow a similar path. However, its eventual box-office performance remains impossible to predict.
Anne Hathaway Continues a Busy Film Career
Hathaway also remains highly active in Hollywood. She has several major projects lined up alongside the new racing film.
Her upcoming projects include Verity and Alone at Dawn. She is also set to return for The Princess Diaries 3.
Her involvement adds another major star to the Days of Thunder franchise. Fans will now have to wait for more details about the story and production.
For now, the surprise collaboration has created considerable excitement among movie audiences. Cruise’s return to NASCAR and Hathaway’s franchise debut make the project particularly intriguing.
