Start your engines: Tom Cruise wanted a big MCU director for Days of Thunder 2

If you thought Days of Thunder 2 sounded like standard sequel territory, wait till you hear about the directorial merry-go-round that happened before Paramount finally locked in its team. Tom Cruise is back behind the wheel (well, of course he is), with Anne Hathaway jumping onboard. But the route to getting someone new in the director's chair turned out to be more complicated than a Monaco pit stop.

Chasing the Marvel Guy

So, here’s a bit of behind-the-scenes drama: before Jonathan Levine was announced as director, the studio apparently had their sights set on a rather bigger blockbuster name. According to film insider Matt Belloni, Paramount and Cruise himself went out of their way to try and get Shawn Levy – the chap currently directing Deadpool & Wolverine for Marvel – to take on the sequel. They were, reportedly, quite determined about it.

But Levy, it turns out, wasn’t tempted by the lure of NASCAR glory, as he’s already juggling enough IP to make your head spin. He’s currently got both the Ryan Gosling-led Ghost Rider at Marvel and a Star Wars film (also starring Gosling) in the works. Oh, and Tom Cruise himself even visited the set of that Star Wars film to help Levy direct a lightsaber fight – because apparently that’s just a normal Tuesday in Hollywood.

Paramount chased Shawn Levy hard for Days of Thunder 2, but he passed to stick with his Marvel and Star Wars schedules.

So after Levy bowed out, the job went to Jonathan Levine – best known for the very not-racy comedy-drama 50/50 – with Will Staples writing the screenplay.

Cruise Back In the Race

After months of rumour, the sequel was officially confirmed this summer (Cruise even dropped one of his cryptic little tweets: 'Days of Thunder. Summer 2028.'). He’ll play Cole Trickle again, now a veteran driver up against the thoroughly modern version of the racing world. Hathaway is on board, playing a brainy team owner and engineer who’s running things alongside Cruise’s character. Cruise recently told Entertainment Tonight that Hathaway is 'talented' and that the new film is going to be 'a fun story' (not the most compelling pull-quote, but he’s not exactly known for giving away much anyway).

Meanwhile Hathaway, who’s expecting her third child, has her own plans to go off the radar for a bit after her next film, Verity, is released.

She explained her schedule in properly dramatic fashion in an interview:

“The movie comes out October 2nd, and on October 3rd, I’m going to, like, vanish in a plume of smoke, and you’re not going to see me until you have to. So, I’m definitely gonna disappear, take some time off. But then, yes, I’m joining Tom on the track in March.”

The whole project is now on a clear path to cinemas, with Paramount locking in a release date of 2 June 2028 for Days of Thunder 2.

Paramount has set Days of Thunder 2 for a 2 June 2028 release.