The late greatTony Scottwas a brilliant director who left the world too soon, butJoseph Kosinskihas managed to keep his spirit alive with his most recent projects. After years of speculation on how a sequel could ever live up to the legacy of Scott’s work on the originalTop Gun, Kosinski delivered a follow-up withTop Gun: Maverickthat both saved the box office and became a surprising award-season contender. AlthoughF1is a standalone film that had unprecedented access to Formula One logos, racing, and technology, it also has a lot in common with Scott’s 1990 NASCAR film,Days of Thunder, which hemade withTom Cruiseright after the success ofTop Gun. While both films have been rumored to receive sequels,Kosinski has hinted at a crossover that bringsF1andDays of Thundertogether.
Kosinski had initially been involvedin a project that would eventually becomeFord v. Ferrari, and would have featured Cruise andBrad Pittin the roles that would eventually go toChristian BaleandMatt Damon, respectively. Although it failed to materialize, Kosinski has been adamant about wanting to reunite Cruise and Pitt, who haven’t shared the screen with one another since 1994’sInterview with the Vampire.Kosinski has hinted that a crossover film could happen, as it would establish that Pitt’sF1character Sonny Hayes had a rivalry with Cole Trickle, the wildcard NASCAR racer that Cruise played inDays of Thunder.
‘F1’ and ‘Days of Thunder’ Have a Lot in Common
BothF1andDays of Thundersucceeded for similar reasons, as they both managed to tell classical underdog racing stories with groundbreaking footage of the competitions themselves; althoughDays of Thunderbenefited from more involvement than NASCAR than any previous film in history,F1workedhand-in-hand with Formula Oneto create immersive racing footage. Beyond the fact that Kosinski was involved with both projects,F1andDays of Thunderwere both produced byJerry Bruckheimer, the legendary creator of some of the most successful blockbusters of the 1990s. IfDays of Thunderwas the epitome of what bloated, fun ‘90s summer spectacles could be,F1benefited from the audience’s nostalgia for that form of storytelling.
A crossover event would be more beneficial than a sequel, as bothF1andDays of Thundermay have issues sustaining their own independent franchises. While Cruise has hinted that hewould like to return to play Trickle, there’s no guarantee that a sequel toDays of Thunderwould have the same cultural impact thatTop Gun: Maverickdid, as the underperformance ofMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoninghas shown that Cruise is not infallible at the box office. Even ifDays of Thunderwas one of the biggest films of 1990, it wasn’t a sensation like the originalTop Gun. Similarly,F1may have broken records to become the highest-grossing film produced by Apple thus far, but it’s unclear just how profitable it will end up being when the production and marketing budgets are taken into consideration. Part of the novelty of seeingF1was how unprecedented its jaw-dropping racing footage is; a sequel would need to hook in an audience with something new to convince them to trek out to the theaters, and bringing in another iconic actor just might do the trick.
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This forthcoming sequel needs Denzel Washington to return to make it an event on the level of ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’
A Crossover Between ‘F1’ and ‘Days of Thunder’ Would Be an Event
Cruise and Pitt are among the last two “movie stars” whose names alone can sell audiences on an impending film, so it makes sense that they would want to team up once more. Cruise may have spent the last few years of his career making spectacle-based action films, but he has hinted that he wants to return to more director-driven, dramatic projects, and remind audiences that he is still the same audacious actor who appeared inBorn On The Fourth of July,Jerry Maguire,Magnolia, andEyes Wide Shut. Pitt has received some of the best reviews of his career recently, as he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work inOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood, butF1hints that he wants toreturn to massively scaled blockbusters. A crossover betweenF1andDays of Thunderwould fulfill both actors’ intentions, as both films are an interesting mix of tentpole populism and surprisingly nuanced, experimental filmmaking.
It makes sense thatF1andDays of Thunderwould exist within the same universe, as both were praised for depicting their respective racing venues in a realistic manner. There’s also a significant gap in the timeline that would offer a new film the opportunity to fill in the margins. AlthoughDays of Thunderends with Trickle winning his first Daytona 500 competition, it’s unclear if he will end up pursuing other racing disciples. InF1, it is explained that Sonny tried various forms of racing after his first experience with Formula One before he was brought back into the sport by Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem). Given that both characters are daredevils who are willing to risk their livelihoods for the sake of a clean victory, there’s plenty of reason to believe that they would have ended up developing a rivalry. Perhaps the notion of seeing two former opponents end up working together could seem a little bit cliche, butF1andDays of Thunderare two films that prove executinga familiar formula isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Kosinski has proven himself as a bold filmmakerwilling to take risks with ambitious projects, and has certainly earned the right to take an even more audacious idea under his belt. Theaters are in desperate need of “event” films that inspire audiences to see them on the big screen, and a crossover betweenF1andDays of Thundercould be the rare blockbuster that doesn’t rely on superheroes or dinosaurs. Given thatF1benefited from its IMAX distribution and Cruise has been adamant in his support for premium formats, it’s likely that the proposed crossover would take advantage of the medium. As strange as an idea as it might seem, anything that Kosinski, Cruise, and Pitt are passionate about is certainly worth checking out.
