Almost 40 years after Tom Cruise first put the pedal down as Cole Trickle, the Days of Thunder sequel is finally real, and it just added one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Anne Hathaway has joined the NASCAR drama, and Paramount has locked a release date that is closer than you think.
A sequel nearly four decades in the making
Paramount has dated the Days of Thunder follow-up for June 2, 2028, roughly 38 years after Tony Scott’s original hit theaters in 1990. Cruise will reprise his role as the scrappy, hot-tempered driver Cole Trickle, and he teased the casting news himself by posting a photo of the pair posing with a lime-green Days of Thunder stock car on an actual NASCAR track.
The sequel is being shot for IMAX and will roll out exclusively in theaters, including premium formats like Dolby Cinema and 4DX. Cruise announced Hathaway’s casting, sharing the same photograph alongside a summer 2028 release window.
Who is Anne Hathaway playing?
Plot details are still under wraps, but Variety reports Hathaway is set to play a racecar team owner and engineer, giving her a natural on-track rival to Cruise’s veteran driver. It is a fitting reunion for a studio leaning hard into nostalgia, and for Hathaway it is the latest stop in a monster 2026.
Hathaway has already had four films in theaters this year, including Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and she is coming off a strong awards-season turn. She also just wrapped the Adam Driver drama Alone at Dawn and is developing a third Princess Diaries movie.
Behind the wheel and behind the camera
Jonathan Levine, the director of Long Shot and Mr. Irrelevant, is confirmed to direct. Cruise produces alongside blockbuster veteran Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper. It marks the first major piece of IP Cruise has attached himself to as he ramps down the Mission: Impossible franchise, with another Top Gun movie still on the horizon.
| Days of Thunder 2 | Details |
|---|---|
| Release date | June 2, 2028 (theaters) |
| Stars | Tom Cruise, Anne Hathaway |
| Director | Jonathan Levine |
| Producers | Tom Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer, Tommy Harper |
| Formats | IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX |
| Hathaway’s role | Racecar team owner and engineer |
Why this matters for Filipino moviegoers
For fans in the Philippines, the draw is simple: a legacy sequel pairing two A-listers on a beloved 90s property, shot for the big screen. The original Days of Thunder also starred Nicole Kidman, Randy Quaid and John C. Reilly, with Robert Duvall as the retired racing legend who recruits Trickle, and it built a cult following here through years of late-night cable reruns.
It joins a packed 2026-2028 pipeline for Filipino moviegoers already spoiled for choice, and if you missed Hathaway’s earlier IMAX work, our The Odyssey review explains why she and Nolan were a match. Expect more casting and a first trailer well ahead of that June 2028 date.
