Anne Hathaway Joins Tom Cruise in 'Days of Thunder' Sequel Set for June 2028

Tom Cruise broke the news himself on Saturday, posting a photo of the two actors leaning against a NASCAR race car in Daytona. The image confirmed that Anne Hathaway will star opposite him in the next chapter of "Days of Thunder," the sequel Paramount Pictures has now dated for June 2, 2028. Cruise will reprise his role as Cole Trickle, the hotshot driver from the 1990 original directed by Tony Scott.

Hathaway will play a race team owner and engineer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Paramount will shoot the film for Imax and release it in Dolby Cinema, 4DX and premium large formats. The announcement lands almost 40 years after the first film, which followed Trickle as he was recruited by retired racing legend Harry Hogge, played by Robert Duvall, to a new NASCAR team.

The original also starred Nicole Kidman, Cary Elwes and Randy Quaid. Jonathan Levine, whose credits include "Long Shot," is directing from a script by Will Staples, who previously wrote for video games including "Call of Duty 3: Modern Warfare." Cruise will produce alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper.

Hathaway arrives at the project during a busy stretch. She has four films hitting theaters in 2026: "Mother Mary," "The Devil Wears Prada 2," "The Odyssey" and "The End of Oak Street." She will finish the year with the Colleen Hoover adaptation "Verity," which opens Oct. 2.

For Cruise, the sequel marks a return to one of his established franchises as he winds down "Mission: Impossible." He also has another "Top Gun" movie in development and will star in Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Digger," arriving this year. Further plot details are being kept under wraps, but the pairing of Cruise and Hathaway as driver and team owner gives the new film a different dynamic from the original.