I know we’re still working our way through 2024, but I can’t help but get pumped about the upcoming 2025 movies as of late. And in addition to the highly anticipated three-quels of Paddington in Peru, Downton Abbey 3, and Tron: Ares, there are fresh-faced films like the Brad Pitt F1 movie heading to theaters next summer. As if the first F1 trailer wasn’t enough to start the internet’s engines on this particular project, some fans have now spotted a Bridgerton star who’s been recently confirmed to be in the picture.
Per reporting from Variety, none other than Simone Ashley has joined the Joseph Kosinski-directed drama. This news comes not too long after she was seen as part of the Bridgerton Season 3 cast, reprising her role from Season 2 as Kate Bridgerton, nee Sharma.
Ashley joins a cast that’s headed by Pitt, and includes actors such as Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Javier Bardem; and her exact role hasn’t been specified just yet. But based on the fact that she was seen accompanying Mr. Idris during this past weekend’s filming at the British Grand Prix, we can presume she’s connected to his character in some way. And some interesting theories come to mind in the absence of those details.
Naturally the instinct would be to think that she might be playing the love interest to Damson Idris’s character of ace racer Joshua "Noah" Pearce; the young man being mentored by Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes in F1. Then again between stereotypical storytelling instincts, and a combination of memories from the racing drama Gran Turismo and Bridgerton Season 2, I could just be projecting.
At the same time, Simone Ashley’s casting feels like the right sort of move to broaden the appeal of F1. Obviously, sports fans are already in the tank for this one, as well as anyone who loves the Kosinski school of intense, flashy action. So bringing in an actor who knows their way around the more personal and emotional beats, especially with a property as hot as Bridgerton on her resume, seems like a shrewd decision.
Though there's almost assuredly a specific calculus at work here, as all involved will want to make sure the alleged F1 budget of $300 million is recouped, with profit. And even with that figure potentially being inflated, you could imagine that Apple Original Films and theatrical distributor Warner Bros. are intending to make a Top Gun: Maverick style splash with this picture.
Either way, I’m willing to bet that Ms. Ashley is part of the emotional grounding that F1’s story is going to be using to keep things nice and balanced. As director Joseph Kosinski and writer Ehren Kruger delivered a huge win of that sort with Top Gun: Maverick, I wouldn’t be surprised if this new experience in intensity is trying to strike that same sort of chord. Especially when F1’s usage of Maverick filming technology already makes for a lot of hype on the more adrenaline fueled side of things.
We're in the early laps of the road to when F1 guns it for a theater near you on June 27, 2025. While we don't have a specific date as to when it will eventually be available to Apple TV+ subscribers, that is presumed to be its eventual streaming home as it's one of the platform’s original productions that secured theatrical distribution.
Speaking of which, if you want to see Apple Original Films’ latest, you can head out to the 2024 movie Fly Me to the Moon, which is at the movies, starting with early showings this Thursday.
