Legacy sequels have become one of the biggest new veins of Hollywood IP in recent years, and few stars know that better than Tom Cruise. The actor, who starred in the hugely successful Top Gun: Maverick, is now reportedly in talks to star in another sequel to one of his earlier hits.
Variety is reporting that Cruise is in early talks to star in a sequel to Days of Thunder, his 1990 movie about a race car driver who is recruited to a new NASCAR team led by Robert Duvall. Days of Thunder is Cruise’s only official writing credit to date, and it’s also where he met Nicole Kidman, who he would be married to for 11 years.
No other creatives are in place on the project, and Cruise has a full plate in front of him, including the next Mission: Impossible movie, a new project from director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, and a sequel to Top Gun: Maverick, so it’s fair to say that this Days of Thunder sequel is a ways off.
By the standards of Cruise’s stardom, Days of Thunder was only a modest hit, making just north of $150 million at the global box office. In the years since the film’s release, though, its reputation has grown, and a sequel might make sense given the spate of recent high-profile racing movies that have hit theaters. If this sequel does ultimately materialize, it’s fair to expect that the stunt work will be even more impressive than it was in the original film.