Two motorsports blockbusters are getting sequels: One is a quick follow-up to a recent release, the other has been decades in the making. But will the sequel to “F1” or “Days of Thunder” cross the finish line first?
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed the “F1” sequel in a BBC interview published earlier this week. The Brad Pitt vehicle, which was co-produced by seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton and directed by Joseph Kosinski of “Top Gun: Maverick” fame, garnered four Oscar nominations this year and grossed $630 million during its release last summer, making it Apple Original Films’ most successful theatrical release to date. So a sequel getting green-lit isn’t exactly surprising.
Bruckheimer confirmed that the sequel is happening, but didn’t discuss timing or casting details. A major question mark is whether Pitt, 62, will return as driver Sonny Hayes. His real-life (and on-screen) age was one of the more implausible aspects of a movie that aimed for authenticity, aided by unprecedented access to F1 races for filming.
This comes after Bruckheimer hinted that a belated sequel to NASCAR spectacle “Days of Thunder,” which he also produced, is gaining traction. On the red carpet for the “F1” premiere last summer, Bruckheimer told an ET reporter that ideas were being discussed with that movie’s star, Tom Cruise.
“There’s always new technologies, new ways to do things, to see things,” Bruckheimer said at the time. “And Tom is such a great individual to come up with phenomenal ideas. So we’ll have something really exciting for an audience once we pull it together.”
That’s not the same as confirming that filming has begun or actors have been cast, but assuming those discussions continued, “Days of Thunder” could have an eight-month head start over the “F1” sequel. Released in 1990, the original didn’t make a big impact at the time, but it’s earned its place in the canon of racing movies.
Cruise’s return would also be somewhat more believable, both because he pulled off a similar trick in “Top Gun: Maverick” and because older drivers have historically been more common in NASCAR (although admittedly less so these days). Combining the NASCAR setting with the camera tech Kosinski used for “F1” would also be epic.
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