Thirty-Five Years After Cole Trickle’s Debut, Tom Cruise Explores Return to NASCAR with ‘Days of Thunder’ Follow-Up

Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures are in early development on a follow-up feature to the 1990 NASCAR drama Days of Thunder, as the studio and star look to build on the massive critical and commercial success of their legacy-sequel model established by Top Gun: Maverick.

While Paramount has not formally set a production start date or attached a director to the project, trade reports confirm that discussions have taken place between Cruise, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and studio executives to explore how character Cole Trickle could return to the modern motorsport arena.

The Legacy of Cole Trickle: From 1990 to Modern Motorsport

The original Days of Thunder, directed by the late Tony Scott and produced by the legendary duo of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, starred Cruise as Cole Trickle, a talented but hot-headed open-wheel driver attempting to transition into the high-stakes world of NASCAR Cup Series racing. The film co-starred Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman, Cary Elwes, and Michael Rooker, generating over $157 million globally upon its summer 1990 release.

Though Days of Thunder received a mixed critical reception during its initial theatrical run, its reputation solidified over the decades as a definitive racing drama of its era. Crucially, the film was built around practical in-car photography a precursor to the real-world kinetic filmmaking style that Cruise and Bruckheimer perfected three decades later on Top Gun: Maverick.

The renewed interest in a Days of Thunder follow-up comes at a time when motorsport cinema is experiencing a major industry resurgence. Following the success of James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari (2019) and Apple Original Films' high-profile racing feature F1, audience demand for practical, authentic speed visuals on IMAX screens has rarely been higher.

Franchise Logistics and Scheduling Realities

A potential Days of Thunder sequel faces a crowded calendar for its lead actor and producing team. Cruise's slate includes finalizing the release and promotion of the eighth Mission: Impossible installment, alongside an untitled feature project directed by Oscar-winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu for Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment.

Additionally, Paramount and Bruckheimer are actively developing a third Top Gun film, following Maverick's $1.49 billion worldwide box-office gross in 2022. Because Cruise exercises meticulous control over his project development often spending years perfecting aerial and automotive practical rigs before camera roll Days of Thunder remains in active story exploration rather than immediate pre-production.

NASCAR’s modern landscape also presents a vastly different backdrop than the 1990 era featured in the original film. Today’s stock car racing features Next Gen vehicle architectures, telemetry data analytics, and a younger generation of drivers, offering a stark thematic contrast should the story choose to position Cole Trickle as a veteran team owner or mentor figure.

The Celebrity Hour Take

Exploring a sequel to Days of Thunder reveals Paramount’s broader strategic intent: systematically evaluating Cruise’s 1980s and 1990s filmography for properties that can be reimagined through cutting-edge practical filmmaking.

Where Days of Thunder differs from Top Gun is its cultural baseline. The original 1990 film was not a dominant box-office runaway in its year, meaning a sequel carries less pressure to replicate an iconic pop-culture phenomenon and more opportunity to refine the original premise into a ground-level automotive thriller.

If Cruise and Bruckheimer apply the same commitment to real-speed NASCAR cinematography that they brought to naval aviation in Maverick, a return to Cole Trickle could deliver one of the most visually visceral racing experiences in modern cinema. What readers should track next is whether NASCAR officially partners with the production to grant track access during live race weekends, which would mirror the production blueprint used for recent major racing releases.

Sources & Verification

This report was prepared using trade reports regarding Paramount Pictures project development, historical box-office archives for Days of Thunder (1990) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), and official production updates regarding Tom Cruise’s film schedule. Key studio details were verified against reported trade developments before publication.