Days of Thunderis an oft-forgotten Tom Cruise action vehicle, and while there’s plenty to love about it, it’s not a film that would benefit from the Cruise-sequel treatment.Days of Thunderis notTony Scott’s best movie, nor is it Tom Cruise’s best movie, nor is it even one of Nicole Kidman’s best movies, but when it comes to the surprisingly barrengenre of NASCAR movies,Days of Thunderstands above. With a 38% onRotten Tomatoes,Days of Thunderis not winning any retrospective awards, but it’s a surprisingly critical piece of Hollywood history.
This was the film where burgeoning superstar Tom Cruise met burgeoning superstar Nicole Kidman, and the couple married that same year, staying together for over a decade. It introduced John C. Reilly to the world. It proved that production values do matter, and decades later, the race scenes inDays of Thunderare as heart-pounding as anything that’s been produced about the sport since.Tom Cruise doesn’t mind making sequels, and studios certainly don’t turn their noses up at the idea, soDays of Thunder 2feels like something that could be in the works.
The Official Status Of Days Of Thunder 2
Tom Cruise Is Interested In Days Of Thunder 2
In November 2024, it was announced that Tom Cruise was looking into revivingDays of Thunder, and was in talks with Paramount regarding a sequel to the racecar film (viaTHR). These discussions also included talks about aTop Gun: Maverickfollow-up, Paramount Pictures distributed the originalDays of Thunder,Top Gun, and even producedTop Gun: Maverick. Both of those original movies are Tony Scott films,so it would fit thatDays of Thundercould also see a sequel. An unnamed executive at Paramount said,
“I don’t think a [Days of Thunder sequel] is a terrible idea. You might have said that revisiting Top Gun was a terrible idea. I wouldn’’t discount it.”
Since late 2024, there hasn’t been much news about the project, but Jeff Gordon, a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the current vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, is also a friend of Cruise, and he’s said the pair have talked aboutDays of Thunder 2(viaNASCAR).
“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.”
The hard part isn’t getting Cruise or NASCAR interested in the project, however. The hard part is getting everyone else invested. From former cast members, to the studios, to the audience, there would need to be a lot of groundwork done to see this project get going.
Days Of Thunder Is Not A Top-Tier Tom Cruise Movie
Top Gun And Mission: Impossible Are Far Better Franchises
Days of Thunder 2is not as good an idea as it may sound in theory.Days of Thunderis noTop Gun.Top Gun: Maverickmay have introduced the story to a whole new generation of filmgoers, butthat movie has a much stronger legacy thanDays of Thunder. While both films earned comparable amounts at the box office, withTop Gunearning $177 million (viaBoxOfficeMojo) andDays of Thunderearning $158 million (viaBoxOfficeMojo),Top Gunis by far the better film, with a 59% onRotten Tomatoes.
Most people will struggle to even remember the plot ofDays of Thunder, and while they may not have seenTop GunbeforeTop Gun: Maverick,characters and scenes from the fighter pilot movie are extremely well known. The volleyball scene, “Iceman”, “Goose”, “I feel the need… The need for speed”, everyone singing “Great Balls of Fire”; take your pick. Audiences had a familiarity withTop Gunin a way they just don’t withDays of Thunder.Days of Thunderfeels like a xerox ofTop Gun, so a sequel would feel unnecessary considering we already haveTop Gun: Maverick.
The great thing aboutTop Gun: Maverickwas seeing Cruise back in a touted franchise, but now with a new cast of likeable characters, doing the same things from the original but with an updated storyline for the modern era. The argument forDays of Thunder 2is exactly the same. There’s no need to go back to the well twice.
As for comparisons to another Cruise movie franchise likeMission: Impossible,Days of Thunderdoesn’t come close to the success and importance of that franchise. That spy franchise is not a nostalgia-fueled series of movies, it’s a series of films that keeps pushing the bar for what action and thrillers can be.Days of Thunder 2would likely not be that, and so any comparisons toMission: Impossiblefall flat.
The Days Of Thunder Supporting Cast Would Likely Not Return
Nicole Kidman May Not Be Interested In Working With Her Ex-Husband
Another difficulty with puttingDays of Thundertogether would be getting the cast back.Tom Cruise may be interested in returning, but Nicole Kidman would almost certainly not be. Though she has publicly claimed she and Cruise are on good terms, she once claimed her divorce from Cruise was “a major shock” (viaToday). She’s also been notably silent on the subject of Scientology (viaTheAge), a quasi-religion that has been accused of being a cult by some countries' courts (viaFirstAmendment).
Even someone as dedicated as Cruise only has so much time.
Cruise has long been a spokesperson for the organization, and that may prove to be a hurdle for Kidman to cross if she were ever interested in returning forDays of Thunder 2. Other actors, like Robert Duvall, who costars as Harry Hogge, have simply aged out of the role. Cruise himself is extremely busy. Though he clearly has a lot of energy for these projects, he has a newMission: Impossiblefilm and an untitled Alejandro Iñárritu project coming up in the next two years. Even someone as dedicated as Cruise only has so much time.
Could Days Of Thunder 2 Ever Work?
A Sequel Could Take Place In The F1 Circuit
If everything came together and Paramount agreed to produce, couldDays of Thunder 2work? Well, of course it could.There have been plenty of flimsy movies that have resulted in ill-advised sequels, and even the ones that don’t receive critical acclaim can still succeed at the box office. Racing sports are popular right now, withFord v Ferrari,Drive to Survive,Senna,Gran Turismo, andFerrariall proving that the racing genre is not dead. Most of these productions are not about stock car racing (NASCAR), so maybeDays of Thunder 2could change the sport.
With how popular F1 is, maybe Cole Trickle (Cruise) could find himself as the crew chief for a young hotshot F1 racer. Much likeTed Lassobrought in an inexperienced American to a European sport,Days of Thunder 2could do the same. Cole would not only have to train a rookie driver, he would also have to get used to this new world of racing that he’s only somewhat familiar with. It’s an option, but sometimes it’s better to leave films alone, and untilDays of Thunderis spoken about likeTop Gun, a sequel feels unnecessary.
