Tom Cruise to Reprise Cole Trickle Role in Days of Thunder Sequel Set for June 2028

NASCAR fans can rejoice — or perhaps begin preparing themselves for the inevitable urge to quote Harry Hogge at strangers. After decades of rumors, whispers, teasing, and the sort of speculation normally reserved for Elvis sightings and alien landings, a Days of Thunder sequel is officially on the fast track to theaters.

News of the long-awaited follow-up to the 1990 original was revealed Saturday. The new film will again star Tom Cruise, joined by Anne Hathaway.

Key Details

• Tom Cruise will reprise his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle.
• Anne Hathaway will reportedly play a team owner and engineer, per Variety.
• Jonathan Levine will direct the film, which will be shot for IMAX.
• A projected release date of June 2028 has been set.

Few details are known beyond these elements, but the IMAX format suggests this will not be a small affair.

Background

The 1990 version of Days of Thunder featured Cruise as Trickle, staging something of an invasion into what was then a largely Southern sport after arriving from the world of open-wheel racing. The character was loosely based on NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, the wildly talented Ohio native who was one of the sport's biggest stars at the time.

In the movie, Trickle's relationship with his crew chief Harry Hogge, played by Robert Duvall, was central to the story. The film featured fast cars, spectacular crashes, arguments, romance, and enough engine noise to make your living room windows nervous.

The movie was considered a hit and remains wildly popular among NASCAR fans, many of whom have spent the last three decades wondering when Hollywood might decide it was time to go back to Daytona. That wish, it seems, has finally been granted.

Timing and Cultural Context

The timing is hardly accidental. NASCAR has enjoyed something of a resurgence in popular culture in recent years, with miniseries, documentaries, and even a sitcom using NASCAR as its backdrop. The arrival of a major feature film centered around the sport should perhaps come as no surprise.

Still, Days of Thunder is different. This isn't simply NASCAR appearing on a screen — this is Cole Trickle climbing back into the car.

Previous Hints and Speculation

A sequel has been whispered about, teased, and highly anticipated for several years. In 2025, Jeff Gordon — who broke into NASCAR around the time the original movie was made — discussed the possibility during a press conference after Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron won the 2025 Daytona 500.

Hendrick Motorsports was heavily involved in the first movie, supplying cars and technical advice during filming. Gordon is also friends with Cruise. When asked about the possibility of another Days of Thunder, Gordon said it would be "amazing."

"Hendrick Motorsports being a part of that project, hard to imagine how you pull that off today because they actually had race cars with cameras in the race, and the cameras were big. Cameras have gotten a lot smaller so maybe you could pull it off, but how do you do it and make it realistic and really authentic.

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"But I've absolutely talked to Tom about it because I want him to do the project, and we want to be a part of it if it were to happen.

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"He seems to like to tease it, so I don't know. We'll see what happens. If that doesn't happen, I feel pretty confident there's a project out there that will get NASCAR back on the big screen, if not just a really cool docuseries or something beyond even what we're already seeing right now."

Well, it is, in fact, happening.

Looking Ahead

Considering the spectacular success Cruise had with his Top Gun sequel, there is plenty of reason to believe lightning can strike twice — or perhaps, in this case, at roughly 190 mph with the throttle buried and someone shouting into a radio.

Speedway president Frank Kelleher confirmed that both Cruise and Hathaway were at Daytona International Speedway this past week doing a promotional shoot for the new project.

With a projected release date of June 2028, NASCAR fans — and the industry itself — can expect to see plenty of Cruise, Hathaway, and movie crews at Daytona and other NASCAR tracks throughout 2027.