“F1” director Joseph Kosinski has an idea of how to reunite former co-stars Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt onscreen, and it involves an oft-forgotten ’90s blockbuster.
In an interview published Monday by GQ UK, Kosinski, who previously directed Cruise in 2013’s “Oblivion” and 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” was asked what his pitch would be to bring Cruise and Pitt together again. His answer involved a big-screen crossover between Pitt’s “F1” character, Sonny Hayes, and Cruise’s character in the 1990 NASCAR racing movie “Days of Thunder.”
“It’d be Cole Trickle, who was [Cruise’s] ‘Days of Thunder’ character,” Kosinski explained. “We find out that he and Sonny Hayes have a past. They were rivals at some point, maybe crossed paths.”
Pitt and Cruise famously starred opposite each other in the 1994 Gothic horror film “Interview With the Vampire.” At the time, Cruise was already a well-established movie star, while Pitt was in the early stages of becoming one. The two have not acted together in a movie again since.
Pitt made waves at the Mexico City premiere of “F1,” though, when he responded to a question about whether or not he would ever work with Cruise again. “Well, I’m not going to hang my ass off airplanes and s–t like that,” Pitt told E! News. “So when he does something again that’s on the ground.”
Kosinski’s “Days of Thunder” and “F1” crossover pitch would, for what it’s worth, firmly qualify as something “on the ground.” Speaking further with GQ UK, Kosinski added, “I heard about this epic go-kart battle on ‘Interview With the Vampire’ that Brad and Tom had, and who wouldn’t pay to see those two go head-to-head on the track?”
It was, notably, reported in November that Cruise was actively developing a “Days of Thunder” sequel at Paramount. Could that sequel be refashioned into an “F1” crossover like the one Kosinski pitched?
Like the original “Top Gun,” “Days of Thunder” was directed by Tony Scott. It starred Cruise as a young, hotshot race car driver who is recruited by a business tycoon to be part of his NASCAR team. The film received mixed reviews when it was released, but it grossed $157 million at the worldwide box office, far surpassing its reported $60 million budget.
If any director is qualified to direct a “Days of Thunder” sequel, it is Kosinski. He has, of course, already stepped into Scott’s shoes once before. Having directed both “F1” and “Top Gun Maverick,” he also now has relationships with both Cruise and Pitt. That shared connection was spotlighted when Cruise made a surprise appearance at the European premiere of “F1” on Monday where he stood and posed for photos with Pitt.
Cruise posted a photo of him and Pitt together at the “F1” premiere on his Instagram afterward and wrote, “Great night at the movies with my friends!! You guys crushed it!!”
While nothing is set in stone yet, Kosinski did confirm to GQ that he, Cruise and co. are developing a sequel to “Top Gun: Maverick.” “We’re working on it now. Ehren Kruger, who wrote ‘F1,’ is writing the script,” Kosinski said. “Like all things, it takes a while to work things out, and we’ll only do it if we feel like we’ve got a strong enough story.”
