Days of Thunder

Cole Trickle Is Back: Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway Lock In a 2028 Days of Thunder Sequel

The green flag is waving again. On August 29, 2026, Tom Cruise confirmed what NASCAR fans and movie fans have wanted for decades. A sequel to the 1990 racing drama Days of Thunder is official, Anne Hathaway is joining the cast, and Paramount Pictures has set a theatrical date of June 2, 2028.

Cruise posted a simple caption from Daytona International Speedway: “Days of Thunder. Summer 2028.” Trade reports from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline confirmed the rest. He returns as driver Cole Trickle. Hathaway plays a team owner and engineer. Plot details stay under wraps.

Want the original roar first? Watch the 1990 Days of Thunder trailer. Then drop your take below. Who should own the garage in 2028, Cole or the new boss?

Why this sequel finally moved

Days of Thunder opened on June 27, 1990, directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Cruise played Cole Trickle, a gifted and combustible stock-car driver recruited onto a new NASCAR team. Robert Duvall co-starred as crew chief Harry Hogge. Nicole Kidman, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, and Michael Rooker rounded out the core cast.

The film earned $82.6 million domestically and $157.9 million worldwide on a reported $60 million budget. Critics were mixed. The racing scenes, Hans Zimmer score, and Cruise’s star power kept it in the culture. Daytona is baked into the original story. Cole’s crash happens during the summer race there. He later wins the Daytona 500. That is why the 2026 announcement landing at Daytona, on the day of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, felt intentional.

Talk of a follow-up has circled for years. The Hollywood Reporter first reported Jonathan Levine in talks to direct in July 2026. Will Staples wrote the script. On August 29, Paramount put a date on the calendar and Cruise put a face on the movie.

source: Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore (Tom Cruise at San Diego Comic-Con, 2019)

Who is in the car, and who owns the team

Cruise reprises Cole Trickle, the role he originated at 27. By summer 2028 he will be 65. That is the same kind of long-gap return he already pulled off with Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, 36 years after the first Top Gun. Thirty-eight years will separate the two Days of Thunder films.

Hathaway is not stepping into Kidman’s doctor role. Variety and Paramount materials describe her as a racecar team owner and engineer. That puts her on the pit wall and in the boardroom, not in the passenger seat. Rolling Stone and the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that in the announcement video a pregnant Hathaway joked, “I’m gonna have this baby, then we’re gonna make this movie.” Cruise laughed and agreed.

Jonathan Levine directs. His credits include 50/50, Long Shot, and the upcoming Paramount sports drama Mr. Irrelevant. Cruise produces with Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the 1990 film, and Tommy Harper. The sequel will be shot for IMAX and released exclusively in theaters, including Dolby Cinema, 4DX, and other premium large formats.

Production is expected to begin in early 2027, according to reporting from The Athletic and the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Further story details have not been released. No original supporting players have been confirmed to return.

source: Wikimedia Commons / us44mt (Cole Trickle No. 46 car from the 1990 film)

source: Wikimedia Commons / Harald Krichel (Anne Hathaway at the 2023 Berlinale)

What we know, and what we do not

Confirmed as of August 29, 2026:

• Title used in coverage: Days of Thunder sequel, often called Days of Thunder 2 by Deadline and other outlets. Cruise’s own post used the original title plus “Summer 2028.”
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• Release: June 2, 2028, theatrical first
• Star: Tom Cruise as Cole Trickle
• Co-star: Anne Hathaway as a team owner and engineer
• Director: Jonathan Levine
• Writer: Will Staples
• Producers: Tom Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer, Tommy Harper

Not confirmed:

• Full plot
• Whether any 1990 co-stars return
• An official final title card beyond the original name
• Filming locations beyond the expectation of real NASCAR tracks

That gap is the fun part. The original was loud, romantic, and a little messy. The sequel has the Maverick playbook sitting next to it: respect the icon, update the machine, put it on the biggest screen possible.

So here is the pit-road question. Do you want Cole Trickle as a veteran still chasing wins, a mentor who cannot stay out of the car, or something sharper? And is Hathaway the person who saves the team or the person who rebuilds it from scratch?

Like this if you are already marking June 2, 2028. Comment with your dream supporting cast. Subscribe so you do not miss the first official look when it drops.

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#DaysOfThunder #DaysOfThunder2 #TomCruise #AnneHathaway #NASCAR

Sources

• Variety, “Anne Hathaway Joins Tom Cruise in ‘Days of Thunder’ Follow-Up; Paramount Sets Release Date,” August 29, 2026
• The Hollywood Reporter, “‘Days of Thunder’ Sequel: Anne Hathaway Joins Tom Cruise, Release Date Set at Paramount,” August 29, 2026
• Deadline, “Anne Hathaway Joins Tom Cruise In ‘Days Of Thunder 2’ At Paramount,” August 29, 2026
• Rolling Stone, “Tom Cruise Confirms ‘Days of Thunder’ Sequel With Anne Hathaway,” August 29, 2026
• The Athletic / The New York Times, “Tom Cruise bringing NASCAR back to big screen with ‘Days of Thunder’ sequel,” August 29, 2026
• Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Tom Cruise announces Days of Thunder 2 NASCAR movie with Anne Hathaway,” August 29, 2026
• USA Today, “‘Days of Thunder’ sequel green-lit with Tom Cruise, Anne Hathaway,” August 29, 2026