Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway are charming fans with their first photos together as they announce the Days of Thunder sequel.
Tom Cruise is heading back to the racetrack, and he is bringing Anne Hathaway along for the ride. The pair set the internet buzzing over the weekend when Cruise announced a sequel to his 1990 racing hit Days of Thunder, sharing a set of photos and a video that fans have not stopped talking about since.
The announcement landed on Saturday, August 29, when Cruise posted an image of himself and Hathaway leaning against a green-and-yellow stock car, captioned simply, “Days of Thunder. Summer 2028.”
The color scheme was a knowing nod to the No. 51 Mello Yello car that defined the original film. Fittingly, the two shot the announcement at Daytona International Speedway, the same venue where the 1990 movie was filmed.
A sequel to Days of Thunder had been rumored for years, gaining momentum after the runaway success of Top Gun: Maverick proved audiences were hungry for Cruise’s return to his classic roles. So when the confirmation finally arrived, and with Hathaway on board as his co-star, the news traveled fast.
Within hours, the photos were everywhere, and the reaction made one thing clear. People were not only excited about the film itself but delighted by the pairing at the heart of it.
The Days of Thunder Sequel Cast and Release
For the sequel, Cruise reprises his role as race car driver Cole Trickle, the character he played in the original. Hathaway joins as a race car team owner and engineer, a role that puts her at the center of the action rather than on the sidelines. Fans have already been speculating about how her character’s dynamic with Cole will play out on screen.
The film is set for release on June 2, 2028, and will hit theaters in a big way. Paramount Pictures confirmed it will be filmed for IMAX and released in premium formats including Dolby Cinema and 4DX. Jonathan Levine, known for Long Shot, is directing from a script by Will Staples. Cruise is producing alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper, the latter a familiar name from his recent blockbusters.
Plot details remain under wraps for now, and it is not yet clear whether any other cast members from the original will return. The 1990 film also starred Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, John C. Reilly, and Cary Elwes, following Cole Trickle’s leap from open-wheel racing into the world of NASCAR.
A New Chapter for Tom Cruise After Top Gun: Maverick
The Days of Thunder sequel marks another major franchise project for Cruise, who has spent recent years reviving his classic hits for new audiences. The move follows the enormous success of Top Gun: Maverick, which brought his 1986 hit roaring back to life and grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide. That triumph fueled speculation that Cruise might do the same for Days of Thunder, a film he has long wanted to revisit.
The original Days of Thunder opened in the summer of 1990 under the direction of the late Tony Scott, who also directed Top Gun. It earned around $157.9 million worldwide and became one of the year’s notable releases, cementing Cruise’s reputation for high-octane roles. Nearly four decades later, the sequel gives him a chance to return to a character and a genre he helped make famous.
Hathaway, meanwhile, arrives off one of the biggest years of her career. She played Penelope in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, released in July 2026, which became a global phenomenon. The film has grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of Nolan’s career and the most commercially successful film in Hathaway’s filmography.
She is set to appear next in Verity, an adaptation of the bestselling Colleen Hoover novel, and the Days of Thunder sequel only reinforces the affectionate “booked and busy” reputation her fans have embraced.
For now, audiences have a two-year wait before the film reaches theaters. Judging by the reaction to those first few photos, though, Cruise and Hathaway have already crossed the finish line when it comes to winning people over.
Here’s to reliving the nostalgia. Watch the original Days of Thunder trailer below.
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