Anne Hathaway joins Tom Cruise’s Thunder

Tom Cruise is heading back to the racetrack, and this time Anne Hathaway is riding shotgun. The pair confirmed on Saturday that Hathaway will star opposite Cruise in Days of Thunder 2, Paramount's long-awaited sequel to the 1990 motorsport hit, which roars into theatres on 2 June 2028.

Cruise, 64, broke the news on his social channels, first sharing a photograph of the two leaning against a NASCAR stock car at Daytona International Speedway, then a playful video. In it, a visibly pregnant Hathaway, 43, tells him she'll deliver her baby first — her third child — and then they'll make the film. "We make the movie! That's what," she says, patting her bump.

Cruise reprises his signature role as hotshot driver Cole Trickle, the part that introduced him to former wife Nicole Kidman on the original set. Kidman, who played neurosurgeon Dr Claire Lewicki, will not return. Hathaway steps into an entirely new role as a race team owner and engineer, marking the first collaboration between the two stars.

Jonathan Levine, of Long Shot and 50/50, directs from a script by Will Staples. Cruise produces alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper — Bruckheimer having co-produced the Tony Scott-directed original, which earned nearly $158 million worldwide. The sequel will be shot for IMAX and released across premium formats including Dolby Cinema and 4DX.

The move continues Cruise's run of legacy revivals following Top Gun: Maverick, while capping a banner year for Hathaway, whose recent credits include The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey and The End of Oak Street. She next appears in the thriller Verity this October. Filming on the sequel has not yet begun.