We’ve known for a while via mega-producer Jerry Bruckhemier that they were trying to figure out an angle to bring back Tom Cruise‘s NASCAR driver Cole Trickle to the big screen after the racing pic “Days of Thunder,” helmed by Tony Scott helped to prepare the actor for his action star status early on when he was sort of tranistioning into that genre alognside Scott’s previous pic with him “Top Gun.” There is now an update of sorts concerning the status of “Days of Thunder 2,” as they’ve started active talks with a director.
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that filmmaker Jonathan Levine has arisen as the frontrunner to helm the racecar driver flick and could be an interesting selection, as Levine isn’t exactly known for massive studio event films, let alone action projects. One of the main goals seems to be that, with Cruise’s recent string of action projects, inserting character-driven plots, as seen with “Top Gun: Maverick,” has been more of a mentor story than a straight-up rah-rah military flick. Worth noting that while Levine is best known from within the comedy community, there was a humorous angle to the original “Days of Thunder” and might be a really good fit.
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They’re also adding that “Days of Thunder 2” is aiming to be Cruise’s next feature to go in front of cameras, so it sounds like it’s in great shape with a script from Will Staples, who previously wrote the Activision video game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” (the 2011 version, not the new iteration) and Michael B. Jordan‘s military actioner “Without Remorse.” A screenwriter who did uncredited work on the script for Christopher McQuarrie‘s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” which could explain the connection to Cruise.
After the success of “F1,” which originally started out as a reunion vehicle for Cruise and Brad Pitt (the two co-starring together on “Interview With A Vampire“) before it got recongified when James Mangold’s “Ford v. Ferrari” (a direct competing project to the former “Drive Like Hell”), Cruise eventually exited allowing for Javier Bardem to fill that part as the mordern-set racing pic’s crowd-pleasing acclaim led to the early talk of potentially having Cole Trickle and Pitt’s Sonny Hayes going head-to-head in the future as rivals.
The original cast featured the late Robert Duvall (Cruise would reunite with him for “Jack Reacher“), his now ex-wife Nicole Kidman, Michael Rooker, Cary Elwes, Randy Quaid, and a young John C. Reilly. If this sequel does come together, we wouldn’t be entirely shocked if Rooker, Elwes, and Reilly were asked to return alongside Cruise for “Days of Thunder 2.” However, what is less clear is if Pitt’s Sonny Hayes will ultimately suit up here; we’re going to keep our fingers crossed that Bruckheimer and Paramount Pictures can make a miracle happen.
Levine’s previous film credits include “All The Boys Love Mandy Lane,” “The Wackness,” “50/50,” “Warm Bodies,” “The Night Before,” “Long Shot,” and most recently, the sports drama “Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story.” We’ll be hopeful for another Seth Rogen union, as well, given the director’s longstanding relationship with the comedic actor.
