Tom Cruise has been slammed by one of his former co-stars after Nicole Kidman was noticeably absent from the newly announced sequel to Days of Thunder.
The Hollywood star, 64, will reprise his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle almost four decades after the original film, with Anne Hathaway confirmed as his new leading lady.
But Randy Quaid, who played team owner Tim Daland in the 1990 racing drama, reacted angrily to the announcement, demanding that Cruise reunite with his ex-wife on-screen.
“We need Nicole back,” Quaid, 75, wrote on X before issuing a rude challenge to Cruise.
‘Don’t be so angry, Tom Cruise. You need the original girl. It’s not personal; it’s filmmaking,” he declared.
Quaid then launched a personal attack on Hathaway, who is expecting her third child with husband Adam Shulman.
Tom Cruise has been slammed by one of his former co-stars after Nicole Kidman was noticeably absent from the newly announced sequel to Days of Thunder. (Pictured together in 1999)
The Hollywood star, 64, will reprise his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle almost four decades after the original film – with Anne Hathaway confirmed as his new leading lady
“Anne is not sexy because – and if you haven’t noticed – she is pregnant,” he wrote.
In a follow-up post, the actor labeled Hathaway a “left-wing, woke, terrible choice” and claimed the audience for the sequel was “MAGA.”
Quaid insisted that Kidman, 59, return as Dr. Claire Lewicki, the neurosurgeon who treated Cole after a serious crash and later became his love interest in the original film.
“The sexy older girl for Tom in this movie has to be Nicole,” he wrote. “That’s the casting that would sell the idea.”
Kidman has not yet been announced as part of the new cast. However, there has been no official confirmation that her character has been removed from the story or that Hathaway is directly replacing her.
The provocative outburst came after Cruise and Hathaway unveiled their collaboration with a promotional photo and playful video filmed at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
The stars were shown leaning against a green and yellow race car, a nod to the signature vehicle Cruise drove in the original blockbuster.
Cruise wore blue jeans and a light blue button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves, while Hathaway matched him in denim, a beige shirt and a matching cowboy hat.
But Randy Quaid, who played team owner Tim Daland in the 1990 racing drama, reacted angrily to the announcement, demanding that Cruise reunite with his ex-wife on-screen.
“We need Nicole back,” Quaid, 75, wrote on X before issuing a rude challenge to Cruise
Her pregnancy belly was covered as she leaned into the camera and enthusiastically greeted viewers, “Hey!”
The pair then walked to the parked car, which had a sticker that read: “Days of Thunder 2: Summer 2028.”
‘What now?’ Cruise asked.
Hathaway repeated the question before declaring, “Let’s make the movie!”
Then she joked, “I’m going to have this baby, and then we’re going to make this movie.”
Cruise approved the plan and replied, “That’s a good idea.” You have the baby and then we’ll make the movie.’
“We’re coming out in the summer of 2028,” he added. ‘Don’t be late!’
Hathaway teased him about the warning before the two stars burst out laughing.
Cruise met ex-wife Nicole Kidman on the set of the original film
Paramount Pictures has scheduled the sequel for a theatrical release on June 2, 2028.
Cruise returns as the daring Cole, while Hathaway is expected to play the owner and engineer of a racing team.
The production will be filmed for IMAX screens and released in premium formats including Dolby Cinema, 4DX and other big screen venues.
Cruise is also producing the project with Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original, and Tommy Harper.
Will Staples is writing the screenplay, while Long Shot filmmaker Jonathan Levine has signed on as director. Details of the plot remain secret.
The sequel brings Cruise back to the role that changed both his personal life and his career.
He met Kidman while making the first Days of Thunder, in which their characters fell in love after Claire helped Cole recover physically and emotionally from a terrifying on-track collision.
Cruise and the Australian actress soon began a real-life romance, marrying in December 1990 and adopting two children, Isabella and Connor.
Cruise pictured on the Days of Thunder set with producer Jerry Bruckheimer
Their marriage ended in 2001 after more than a decade, and the former couple have rarely spoken publicly about each other since.
Kidman previously recalled getting swept up in the relationship when she was still in her early 20s.
She said they had fallen “madly in love” and that warnings about the marriage potentially affecting her career did not concern her at the time.
Her absence from the sequel’s initial cast announcement is particularly notable given the romantic history tied to the original film – although Paramount could still reveal more returning stars as production continues.
The late Tony Scott directed the 1990 film, which earned $82.6 million at the North American box office and $157.9 million worldwide.
The cast also included Robert Duvall, Cary Elwes, Michael Rooker, Caroline Williams and John C. Reilly.
Elwes, who played Cole’s rival Russ Wheeler, recently revealed how seriously Cruise took the driving scenes.
The actors performed much of the high-speed work themselves, and Cruise reportedly crashed one of the expensive race cars into a wall on his first day behind the wheel.
“Tom actually put a car against the wall on his first day of driving, and these things aren’t cheap,” Elwes recalled in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
According to Elwes, Cruise saw the impending impact and said dryly, “Hello wall.”
The British actor also praised his co-star’s behavior behind the scenes, describing him as fun, supportive and thoroughly professional.
Cruise has since become famous for performing increasingly elaborate stunts in the Mission: Impossible franchise.
His latest return to an early role follows the phenomenal success of Top Gun: Maverick, which transformed his 1986 fighter pilot film into another global blockbuster more than thirty years later.
Hathaway is now experiencing another busy period in her career, with major roles in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the highly anticipated The Devil Wears Prada 2.
The sequel will mark the first time she and Cruise star together.
