NASCAR Eyes 1990’s $82 Million Repeat as Netflix Success Fuels ‘Days of Thunder’ Sequel Interest

It’s safe to say that the Netflix docuseries, NASCAR: Full Speed was a success. Fans all over the country and around the world were glued to their screens as the series served as the perfect precursor to the 2024 Cup Series season, which will begin this coming weekend with the Daytona 500. The response has inspired NASCAR and as per a recent report, they might be considering making a sequel to the iconic Days of Thunder movie.

Days of Thunder is considered to be one of the best motorsports films of all time, especially by fans of stock car racing. The 1990 film featured Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, and Nicole Kidman, and was produced by Paramount Pictures. Several cameos from Cup Series racers of the time were in the movie and it quickly became one of the most popular motorsports films of all time.

NASCAR executive hints at possible Days of Thunder sequel

The news was reported by eminent NASCAR journalist Adam Stern for Sports Business Journal. Stern posed the question of the possibility of a Days of Thunder 2 to NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell and the latter did not say no. His response made it seem like Netflix would have a huge role to play in making the movie, especially after their immense success with Full Speed.

“We’d love to see that. The more places we can expose NASCAR to with a broader audience, the better. With Netflix, when they’re advertising us in the middle of Times Square right now [for the ‘Full Speed’ docuseries] — that’s huge, and it shows what a great partner they already have been. So anytime you can expose the sport outside of a regular race weekend broadcast is big for us,” the NASCAR executive said as per Sports Business Journal.

When the film came out, it was an instant success. As per the SBJ report, it grossed a whopping $82 million at the box office in the United States alone. Internationally, the film earned another $75 million. The fact that the producers tried to make the film as realistic as possible added a lot of value to the product. Hendrick Motorsports was one of the organizations consulted while making the film and some of the shooting locations were Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, and Phoenix Raceway.

However, if the Days of Thunder movie were to have a sequel, fans would only want to see the original cast. That includes the legendary Hollywood actor Tom Cruise as Cole Trickle. But is there any chance of that happening?

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Will Tom Cruise be back as Cole Trickle?

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Well, that’s where there is some bad news. According to entertainment news outlet Giant Freakin Robot, “Considering what we’ve learned, it’s tempting to speculate that — assuming THR’s report was accurate — Tom Cruise may have said no to the Days of Thunder series because of the possibility of a Days of Thunder 2.”

Sports Business Journal suggests the Mission Impossible star has the rights to the IP of the film. If he does not agree to make a Days of Thunder sequel, there won’t be one. Unless of course the rights are purchased from him. But that would mean that Tom Cruise would not be a part of the movie which would disappoint a lot of fans. There is a lot of uncertainty in this regard but it’s not completely off the cars as per the NASCAR COO.

If something does get agreed upon, racing fans will be in for a treat at the cinema. Will there be a Days of Thunder 2 movie any time in the near future? Only time will tell. But we sure hope there is one.

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