Just when you thought the upcoming 2025 movies were going to be the center of gravity for the near future, Tom Cruise comes along with an announcement so wild it feels like a blur. While Mission: Impossible 8’s release date of May 23rd is still very much in play, it’s been rumored that another Cruise classic might be getting the Top Gun: Maverick treatment. While this news certainly excites me, I wonder what this means for the slew of other daring commitments the man currently has on his plate?
Days Of Thunder 2 Has Entered The Chat
It’s been almost 25 years since Cole Trickle won the Daytona 500, and apparently we might find out what he’s been up to in that quarter of a century gap. Days of Thunder 2 is apparently a new topic of discussion between Cruise and his frequent studio partner. Someone claiming to be in the know within Paramount Mountain headed back to the surface, and in front of THR, to give the following update:
He’s talking [to Paramount] about Top Gun and Days of Thunder. It’s going to be what comes together first in terms of a script. It depends on the idea and, ultimately, the script.
Unnamed Source, THR
While the sequel to Maverick is obviously being touted as the “top priority” at the studio, this Tony Scott-directed deep cut must have resurfaced in Cruise’s mind for a reason. I have to wonder if it’s because he may have the inside track on how his previous director Joseph Kosinski’s recent partnership with Brad Pitt is looking.
Seeing as the F1 trailer appears to be as top flight as Top Gun: Maverick, that seems like the most likely case to me. However, with all of this automotive commotion in motion, it does bring into focus some other commitments that Tom Cruise has on his “to do” list.
A Potential Days Of Thunder Legacy-quel Joins A Long List Of Tom Cruise Projects
Never let it be said that Mr. Cruise is sleeping on the job, because I sometimes wonder if he even takes that much of a break. That’s because the man has several high profile pitches he’s been working on for years, and that doesn’t count the whispers around an Edge of Tomorrow sequel.
In particular, this Days of Thunder development forces us to wonder if Tom Cruise’s space thriller involving Elon Musk’s participation is still on the launchpad. Not to mention, there’s Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s secretive next movie, which is set to start shooting in the near future, per the report sourced above. Then there’s finishing/continuing his work on the Mission: Impossible series; which Cruise is hoping to continue for a ninth chapter, if not more.
Twice the Academy Award nominated daredevil has been set up to potentially leave his long-running spy franchise, and both times he's taken it back. That question is just one of the many that Days of Thunder 2 brings up, along with how Nicole Kidman's character of Dr. Claire Lewicki may factor into this project, if at all.
We'll have to just wait and see if this legacy-quel makes it to the starting line, or if it's scrapped before it can be constructed. For now, the next confirmed project Tom Cruise fans will have to look forward to is Mission: Impossible 8; which is slated to be unsealed on May 23rd, 2025. And of course, if you want to watch Days of Thunder, or any of Captain Pete Mitchell and Ethan Hunt's heroics of the past, head over to your Paramount+ subscription to get in on the action.
