When Tom Cruise made a point of attending one of the premieres for F1, that Brad Pitt movie about Formula 1, I knew Tom would not allow Pitt to have all of the “cars go vroom vroom” glory. Please, Tom INVENTED vroom-vroom movies. Sure enough, the Days of Thunder sequel is now going ahead. Tom has wanted to make a DOT sequel for years and the conversation heated up after Top Gun: Maverick was so successful. If anything, F1’s box office success just made a DOT sequel all that more urgent. Well, over the weekend, Cruise posted an update – Days of Thunder 2 will be out in the summer of 2028. That wasn’t the only announcement – Anne Hathaway joined Tom for the video:
Days of Thunder. Summer 2028. pic.twitter.com/rD3QLXfUyi
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) August 29, 2026
I try to fight it every time, but I really can’t help it – I find Cruise rather charming. The rebrand worked, you know? His earnest dorkiness has come back into style. According to Variety, Anne will play “a racecar team owner and engineer.” And probably a love interest too. Yes, Tom is old enough to be her father, but Anne is 43! They’re going to do the same thing Tom did in TG: Maverick, have a love interest over the age of 40 so people won’t complain *that* much about age gaps (Jennifer Connelly was actually in her early 50s). And obviously, Tom isn’t interested in bringing back his ex-wife Nicole Kidman. She’s not interested either! You know who should come back for the sequel though? John C. Reilly.
As for Anne… come on, she gets to star in a dumb vroom-vroom movie with Tom Cruise. I remember when Michelle Williams (the white one) was asked about why she signed on to the Venom movies and she was basically like, hey, it’s nice to get paid and make a movie lots of people will see. It’s the same with Anne – while Anne has always done big studio films, even she sees the allure of just signing on to a movie with a big paycheck and some big, dumb fun. Plus, Tom booked her while she’s pregnant, which is actually pretty cool.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Tom Cruise’s social media.
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- Tom Cruise at the 16th Governors Awards in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, November 16, 2025.,Image: 1052996211, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: ©A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: /AMPAS/Avalon
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- Tom Cruise at the 16th Governors Awards in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, November 16, 2025.,Image: 1052996894, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: ©A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: /AMPAS/Avalon
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- Anne Hathaway at The Odyssey film premiere, London, UK, on the 6th July 2026,Image: 1114859494, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: James Shaw/Avalon
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- MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA – JULY 14: Anne Hathaway wearing custom Prada with Bulgari jewels, styled by Erin Walsh arrives at the New York Premiere Of Universal Pictures’ ‘The Odyssey’ held at AMC Lincoln Square 13 on July 14, 2026 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.,Image: 1116667418, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Pictured: Anne Hathaway , Credit line: Image Press Agency/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- BURBANK, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – AUGUST 09: Anne Hathaway wearing custom Atelier Prabal Gurung, styled by Erin Walsh arrives at the World Premiere Of Warner Bros.’ ‘The End Of Oak Street’ held at Warner Bros. Studios on August 9, 2026 in Burbank, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1122017610, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Pictured: Anne Hathaway , Credit line: Image Press Agency/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- BURBANK, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – AUGUST 09: Anne Hathaway wearing custom Atelier Prabal Gurung, styled by Erin Walsh arrives at the World Premiere Of Warner Bros.’ ‘The End Of Oak Street’ held at Warner Bros. Studios on August 9, 2026 in Burbank, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1122017767, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Pictured: Anne Hathaway , Credit line: Image Press Agency/Image Press Agency/Avalon
I wonder if any of Abbe’s thinking was also “I’ll have a studio pay for my post partum maternity recovery process.” (Which I would totally do). A chef who makes nourishing post partum soups and teas, regular post partum massages, pelvic floor therapy, etc. would all be written into my contract.
Anne’s (come on thumbs)
I thought was going to be playing his daughter.
This I’m with Kaiser, I just can’t help but enjoy Tom Cruise. I know that’s “get-ready-for-a-flogging” talk, but it’s true. His religion sucks, but I could say that about a lot of religious actors.
His rebranding definitely worked. As has the fact that literally every person who’s ever worked with him has had glowing things to say, including his female co-stars.
To me it’s the combination of his professional behaviour on set and the extreme probability of being deeply brainwashed. Dude has been with scientology for over 40 years? Is there coming back from that? Can he be reversed brainwashed? He seems to have left Kidman and Holmes alone after the divorce to the point of ignoring his daughter completely. But they also haven’t had to deal with shitty narratives like the ones Pitt always spreads about his exes.
I’ve wondered for years if he’s dealt with religious brainwashing, but also, that he was recruited when he was so young and vulnerable that he gave them WAY too much intensely private and personal information in their infamous “auditing” sessions, that he essentially couldn’t ever fully, publicly break from them without them going after everything and everyone in his life, including past relationships.
I mean, as you said, he’s never uttered a negative word about his exes, including the one before Nicole who actually introduced/inducted him into Scientology (I’m blanking on her name, I’m sorry!), so it stands to reason he wouldn’t want Xenuites to go after them to punish him, too.
Cults are so destructive and effective, it’s hard to demonize someone who’s likely/obviously a victim of their tactics, even if he’s a professionally successful one.
That was Mimi Rogers.
“His religion sucks” is putting it lightly.
Sid— I wholeheartedly agree, same with all cults and most organized religions. I just didn’t want to get deleted by getting too specific on how bad they are 🤷♀️
Can’t help it, he continues to give me the ick. And I’m an OG Cruise hater – I didn’t even like him in the Risky Business/Top Gun decade. (Goose forever!)
Can she please be the daughter at least and not the love interest?
To put it into perspective, she is one year younger than Kirsten Dunst who played a child in IWTV with Cruise and Pitt. So please can the love interests of these men be much closer to 50 just saying, if not 50 or over. Can we brainstorm some hotties in their 50s for these movies. I’ll start. Halle Berry. JLo. Charlize. Sofia vergara. Let Anne be the daughter for the love of god lmao.
They have a nice vibe together in the announcement. Really enjoyed the Top Gun sequel and will probably be watching this one too.
I still have reservations about TC but booking Anne while she is heavily pregnant gets a thumbs up from me. Still, he is not this understanding towards the mothers of his children.
You forgot to include the part where Randy Quaid demanded that Anne be fired for being “woke”.
Anne’s tweaks seem really obvious here
I can’t blame Anne. She and I are close to the same age and I never thought I would ever do anything to my face, but lo and behold, I woke up one morning and wondered where my face went. It was practically overnight too, not recognizing myself in the mirror and it didn’t go away either. After several months of that, I finally took the plunge and got a little bit of botox and I feel prettier. I don’t feel down when I look in the mirror and I know it’s so dumb and so vain and there are more important things to worry about but damn, I get it with Anne. Aging is no joke but she looks beautiful, tweaked or not.
I do get that but it just looks unnatural
I get it. I never thought I’d stick a needle in my face voluntarily. The problem is, so many people are doing it and starting younger and younger. I was getting tired of taking good care of my skin only to look older than everyone else in pics. When my son got married I finally went for Botox and was glad I did. I was happy with how I looked in the photos. And honestly? Botox isn’t so bad. It’s unpleasant but brief.
She has also has pregnancy face which can make it fuller just saying.
I have just loved Anne Hathaway’s glowing and radiant pregnancy vibe. I love her energy. I’m super happy she has distanced herself from the hathahate campaign directed towards her. It’s so difficult to be a woman with the relentless scrutiny. Sigh.
She’s pregnant. You can’t get botox or fillers while pregnant. She was getting botox and it was obvious but I think her face looks quite natural in the video and in recent photos. It’s fuller because of pregnancy which can fill in lines and make you look more youthful.
I don’t get it. The first movie wasn’t all that great? I mean I didn’t like it. I guess a lot of people did. I just don’t get why a sequel? Oh well, when you’re Tom Cruise, I guess you can just put anything out there and the people will come.
I try to fight it every time, but I really can’t help it – I find Cruise rather charming. The rebrand worked, you know? His earnest dorkiness has come back into style.
–I know I’ll get flack for this. What gets me is that I have heard stories of him helping out ordinary people, or how nice he is to his fans. I’ve heard these over the years even before he got into Scientology. It’s hard to reconcile that history with what he is now.
He gives me the ick. I can’t un-know what I know and I think sure the rebrand worked for some but honestly he just seems like a clown to me. I put him in the same category as Brad Pitt – both are deadbeat dads past their prime who are desperately trying to convince themselves – and us – that they’re not. I just find watching a man who will be a senior citizen next year do stunts that can kill him (because he has a God-complex and thinks he can heal himself and others) to be a bit much.
Cruise is dyed and plasticised and I don’t care if he does his own stunts. I’ll add this to the long list of his films that I haven’t / won’t watch.
Anne has been on an absolute roll lately! Idea of You, Mother Mary, DVP 2, Odyssey, End of Oak Street, now this…the hustle is real and she is CRUSHING. Love to see it, especially as a rebound to that confusing 5-10 year stretch when everyone hated her because it was trendy.
Fun story, I am about to turn 40 in a few days and Tom Cruise was born the same year as my mother. That man is old enough to be the grandfather of the baby Anne Hathaway is carrying in this video (and the older children she has at home for the record). But yeah, women in their late 30’s and early 40’s are totally believable as his love interests (insert eyeroll here).
IF she’s playing his love interest, I don’t feel like the age gap is TOO crazy (his 64 to her 44). He’s also pretty good with costars who play love interests in other movies too: Top Gun Maverick (his 60 to Jennifer Connelly’s 51); Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning (his 61 to Rebecca Ferguson’s 40). It’s not nothing, but he’s not casting women in their 20s either.
The only way this movie would be interesting is if he made peace with Nicole and Scientology blessing. For her to be in it. IIRC she was labeled a SP because her late father was a psychiatrist (verboten to Scio). And she almost fully got Tom out of Scientology in the 90’s. And they pulled him back in and the #1mission by the midget was to end that relationship.
Anne is a safe choice. And as annoying as I find her. My God she was amazing in The Odyssey. I keep reading comments online the big reason he is doing a sequel. Is to pander to the MAGAs. Which I think is some truth in that.
I assume they will write Nicole out the same way Meg Ryan was written out of Top Gun 2 she died offscreen.
I am always of mixed feelings with Tommy. While he creates thousands of jobs a year through his production company. He runs a safe set. His fanaticism with his “religion” and refusal to open his eyes and see they are not in fact ‘saving the world’. And hurting people, families, draining livelihoods. Is such a contradiction to any good he thinks he does in it.