The Oscar winner arrives after major releases The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. She is also set to play the title character in Verity, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel.
What did Randy Quaid say about the casting?
Quaid began with a demand for the original leading lady. “We need Nicole back,” he wrote on X, before telling Cruise, “Don’t be a pussy.” He then declared that Hathaway “isn’t sexy” because she is pregnant.
The actor continued by arguing that a worthwhile sequel would reunite Cruise and Kidman. He said the production needed “a new race car” rather than “a new girl,” then attacked Hathaway as a “leftist, woke, horrible choice” for an audience he characterized as MAGA.
Quaid, whose account has roughly 1.2 million followers and regularly features MAGA-related posts, offered no evidence that NASCAR viewers share one uniform political identity.
Some followers defended Hathaway. One also challenged the contradiction in Quaid’s position, noting that he has opposed conservatives losing Hollywood work over politics while arguing that left-leaning performers should face exactly that treatment.
As of September 1, neither Cruise nor Hathaway had responded publicly. Variety reported that their representatives and Paramount offered no immediate comment. Jalopnik said Quaid continued posting about the casting, but there was no reported change to the production.
Is Randy Quaid returning for the sequel?
Before criticizing Hathaway, Quaid posted a video from inside a car and claimed, “Tom Cruise just called me! We’re making Days of Thunder 2!”
That enthusiastic announcement has not been backed by Paramount. The officially confirmed cast information names Cruise and Hathaway, while Quaid’s return remains unverified.
The sequel does have its main creative crew in place:
- Jonathan Levine will direct.
- Will Staples is writing the screenplay.
- Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper will produce.
- Paramount has scheduled the film for June 2, 2028.
- The production is being developed for IMAX presentation, though that does not necessarily mean it will be filmed with IMAX cameras.
Cruise has discussed the project with NASCAR figures at Daytona. He said the new movie would focus on the sport’s teamwork, community, speed and danger, suggesting the racing world will be more than glossy scenery around Cole Trickle’s comeback.
Why NASCAR has a stake in Cole Trickle’s return
The first Days of Thunder cost approximately $60 million and earned about $157 million worldwide. Critics initially responded harshly, while people inside NASCAR mocked some of its more exaggerated racing drama. Time has been kinder. The film later developed a cult following among motorsport fans.
Cole Trickle was loosely inspired by driver Tim Richmond, and the original combined high-speed spectacle with a very Hollywood version of stock-car racing. Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon has publicly pushed for a sequel, while the Associated Press raised the possibility that Hendrick Motorsports could become involved. No formal partnership has been confirmed.
That background makes Hathaway’s team-owner role especially notable. Rather than simply recreating Kidman’s character, the sequel may be placing a woman in the operational center of the racing story. For now, the supposed Cruise-Hathaway romance exists only in Quaid’s complaint, not in Paramount’s announcement.
The cars are confirmed, the release date is set, and the casting argument is already running at maximum volume. The actual relationship between Hathaway’s character and Trickle remains parked under a studio cover.
