Days of Thunder 2 Is Real: Cruise, Hathaway, June 2, 2028

Tom Cruise is making a Days of Thunder sequel, it comes out June 2, 2028, and Anne Hathaway is in it. Paramount Pictures confirmed all three on Saturday, Aug. 29, after Cruise announced the film at Daytona International Speedway hours before NASCAR’s Cup Series regular-season finale.

He announced it, per ESPN, by standing up from his chair in front of 40 race-car drivers, jumping over a row of potted plants and landing directly on the stage. That was, in ESPN’s phrasing, the first of many stunts to come.

What was actually announced

The confirmed facts are short and specific.

Cruise returns as Cole Trickle, the reckless young driver he played in Tony Scott’s 1990 original. Hathaway plays a racecar team owner and engineer. Jonathan Levine — whose credits Variety lists as Long Shot and Mr. Irrelevant, and which Yahoo adds 50/50 and Warm Bodies to — directs. Will Staples wrote the screenplay. Cruise produces alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper, all three of whom joined him at the pre-race drivers’ meeting.

Paramount is releasing it June 2, 2028, in theaters only, shot for IMAX, with Dolby Cinema and 4DX formats, per Variety’s exclusive.

What is not confirmed: the title. The Drive notes that the announcement car simply read “Days of Thunder” with “Summer 2028” on the side, painted in the original film’s livery with Cole Trickle’s name above the door. Paramount has also kept plot details under wraps and has not said whether any other original cast members return, per Yahoo.

The announcement was a Daytona event, not a press release

Cruise did not do this from a studio lot. He waved the green flag on the project at Daytona and then showed up for the drivers’ meeting, addressing a room that ESPN describes as packed with NASCAR executives, fans, corporate sponsors and military personnel.

“It’s not just about racing,” Cruise told the room. “It’s about the community and the people here. There’s something very special about racers and the whole community. It’s a culture, and I was very proud to be able to reflect that in the first ‘Days of Thunder,’ and I am honored to share it with the world.”

He also told a story about shooting the original at the same track — filming on the backstretch at around 180 mph with two heavy cameras when the hood came off the car and the whole thing caught fire. Radio communications didn’t reach the backstraight, so nobody could come help. “I hear that’s still possible, correct?” he asked the drivers. “You guys didn’t fix that. Well, that’s good.”

Cruise posed for photos, shook hands with military members, and was expected to spend part of the race on pit road, per ESPN.

Why this took 36 years

The original Days of Thunder was, by ESPN’s own description, a critically panned summer blockbuster that the NASCAR industry largely lampooned for exaggeration and overindulgence. It earned $157.9 million worldwide against a reported $60 million budget, per Yahoo.

It also became a cult favorite in racing circles. Robert Duvall’s crew-chief line — “Rubbin’, son, is racin’” — is still quoted by fans. Cruise’s character was loosely based on the late NASCAR driver Tim Richmond.

The obvious template is Top Gun: Maverick, which Cruise and Bruckheimer made 36 years after the original Top Gun. It grossed $1.496 billion worldwide and picked up six Academy Award nominations including best picture, winning for best sound, per Yahoo. ESPN reports Cruise said after that success he wanted to give Days of Thunder the same treatment.

The Hollywood Reporter reported in November 2024 that Cruise had talked to Paramount about a follow-up. The Drive reported in July of this year that he had signed on and the studio was searching for a director.

There is a real absence at the center of this. Tony Scott, who directed the original, died in 2012. Robert Duvall died in February, per The Drive. Randy Quaid, who played car-dealer-turned-team-owner Tim Daland, is 75 and still alive. Whether any of that history appears onscreen is exactly what Paramount hasn’t said.

Four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, now vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, has been publicly lobbying for a sequel — he said in 2025 he wanted to be part of one, before Cruise’s involvement was confirmed. ESPN notes Gordon and Cruise have been friends for years, which it suggests could improve the odds of Hendrick Motorsports being involved.

What happens next

Nothing is shooting yet, and the joke Cruise and Hathaway made in the announcement video — that they’ll go make the movie after Hathaway has her baby — is also the schedule, as far as anyone has said publicly.

Both leads are busy. Variety notes Hathaway has had four films in theaters in 2026 (Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, The End of Oak Street), closes the year with the Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity, has wrapped the Adam Driver military drama Alone at Dawn, and is working on a third Princess Diaries. Cruise’s next release is Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Digger, and Variety reports he is also committed to another Top Gun. This is the first significant piece of IP Cruise engages with after winding down Mission: Impossible.

The open question is whether a racing movie can work as a modern four-quadrant blockbuster. ESPN is skeptical of the category’s record: for every Talladega Nights, it argues, there are ten misfires like Kevin James’ Netflix series The Crew. What ESPN is not skeptical about is Cruise, calling him a safe bet to deliver a hit and to do many of his own stunts.

If you’re mapping out the next two years of theatrical releases, our fall movies 2026 preview covers what’s landing between now and January — and for a comparison case in how studios handle long-dormant properties, our look at what’s actually next for Stranger Things is a useful reality check on announcement-stage hype. If you’d rather stay in, the September Netflix guide has this month’s slate.

FAQ

When does Days of Thunder 2 come out? June 2, 2028, in theaters, per Paramount and Variety. It was shot for IMAX and will play in formats including Dolby Cinema and 4DX.

Is it actually called Days of Thunder 2? Unconfirmed. The Drive notes the announcement car read only “Days of Thunder” with “Summer 2028,” and Paramount hasn’t released a title.

Who is in the cast? Tom Cruise returns as Cole Trickle and Anne Hathaway plays a race team owner and engineer. Paramount has not announced whether anyone from the 1990 cast returns.

Who is directing? Jonathan Levine, from a screenplay by Will Staples. Cruise produces with Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper.

How much did the original Days of Thunder make? $157.9 million worldwide against a reported $60 million production budget, per Yahoo.