Tom Cruise is embracing the need for speed… but not of the “Top Gun” variety. On X June 27, Cruise wrote a congratulatory message to producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who not only is the man behind this weekend’s box office hit “F1,” but also the Cruise-starring NASCAR film “Days of Thunder” — released in theaters 35 years to the day of the new Brad Pitt-led Formula One action drama.
“I always love the fun and adrenaline of a racing film,” Cruise wrote. “Today marks two racing milestones for my friend Jerry Bruckheimer, the release of ‘F1’ and the 35 year anniversary to the day of our collaboration with the great Tony Scott on ‘Days of Thunder.’”
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Cruise posted a series of photos from the production of “Days of Thunder,” all on the race track.
“Incredible to look back on this film today, and congratulations to Jerry, Brad, Joe and the whole F1 team on their release,” Cruise added.
The comparisons between Cruise and Pitt’s action prowess was also made earlier this month at the “F1” premiere, when Pitt responded to the suggestion that he star alongside his fellow box office champ in a “Mission: Impossible”-style thriller.
“Well, I’m not gonna hang my ass off airplane shit like that,” he said in an interview with E! News. “When he does something again that’s on the ground.”
The pair have known one another for decades, and racing has helped define their friendship since the beginning — albeit in not quite as high stakes a venue. “He’s sweet,” Pitt said of Cruise. “Yeah, we did have our go-cart days back in the ’90s,” though he said that Cruise usually beat him on the go-cart track.
“F1” director Joseph Kosinski, who also led “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022, said there is a possibility “Days of Thunder” could be woven into a future “F1” sequel.
“Well, right now, [the sequel would] be Cole Trickle, who was [Cruise’s] ‘Days of Thunder’ character,” Kosinski told GQ (via Movieweb). “We find out that he and [Brad Pitt’s] Sonny Hayes have a past. They were rivals at some point, maybe crossed paths… I heard about this epic go-kart battle on ‘Interview With the Vampire’ that Brad and Tom had, and who wouldn’t pay to see those two go head-to-head on the track?”
Pitt and Cruise almost paired together in a racing drama based on the book “Go Like Hell” by A.J. Baime. In 2013, THR reported that Pitt and Cruise were in talks to star in that movie, which would take six more years to actually make it to the screen. Even before that, the project had been through several potential incarnations, with Pitt rumored to be on the casting list as early as 2009.
In the end, neither would end up starring in the movie, and “Go Like Hell” was a title that eventually was scrapped, too. It instead became “Ford v. Ferrari,” starred Christian Bale and Matt Damon, netted four Oscar nominations (including Best Picture), and raked in over $225 million at the box office.
