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Paramount’s “Days of Thunder” sequel is shaping up with Jonathan Levine (“50/50,” “Warm Bodies”) in negotiations to direct returning star Tom Cruise.
Cruise will also produce the film alongside Jerry Bruckheimer, who
produced the original 1990 racing drama. Will Staples wrote the script. The original film was directed by the late Tony Scott and followed Cruise as Cole Trickle, a scrappy race car driver who gets recruited to a new NASCAR team by a retired racing legend, played by Robert Duvall. Cruise met Nicole Kidman, to whom he was married for 11 years, on the set of “Days of Thunder.”
News broke in November 2024 that Cruise was in talks to reprise his role. This isn’t the first time Cruise has reprised one of his older roles, as he returned to the “Top Gun” (1986) world with the sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” which released in 2022. That film was a massive success for Paramount, grossing just shy of $1.5 billion at the global box office. It also earned six Oscar nominations, winning for best sound.
In addition to his varied film work helming comedies like “Long Shot” and “The Night Before,” Levine recently directed episodes of “Nine Perfect Strangers” starring Nicole Kidman. Next up, Cruise is set to star in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s dark comedy “Digger,” releasing from Warner Bros. on Oct. 2.
Paramount is due to release Levine’s next film, “Mr. Irrelevant” on Christmas Day. David Corenswet stars in the film, which follows the true story of John Tuggle, the “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 1983 draft, the last player chosen in the last round, by the New York Giants, and his enduring impact on his team and teammates. Levine filmography also includes “Warm Bodies” and “Longshot.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the development update.
More to come…
