There are hot takes, there are bad takes… and then there is this.
On the heels of Tom Cruise announcing a Days of Thunder sequel — which will return Cruise as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle — Cruise’s former co-star Randy Quaid crudely blasted the action movie icon for picking Oscar winner Anne Hathaway as his co-lead.
In the 1990 original, Quaid played a race team owner who recruits Cole into NASCAR, while Nicole Kidman played a neurosurgeon who becomes Cole’s love interest. In the upcoming Paramount movie, Hathaway will play a team owner and engineer.
“We need Nicole back,” wrote Quaid on X. “Don’t be a pussy, @TomCruise. You need the original girl. It’s not personal; it’s filmmaking. Anne isn’t sexy, because and if you haven’t noticed, she’s pregnant.”
The actor — who has 1.2 million followers and whose feed is full of MAGA-related content — continued: “If I were in control of production, a real sequel worth watching for DAYS OF THUNDER would be seeing Tom and Nicole together on screen again. We don’t need a new girl; we need a new race car! … Anne Hathaway is a leftist, woke, horrible choice for DAYS OF THUNDER NASCAR audience who are MAGA. The sexy older chick for Tom in this film needs to be Nicole. That’s the casting that would sell the idea. It’s interesting because when we made the first one there was also a rush to get it out; editors slept in the cutting room on shifts. This is a weird thing, like they want it to come out and tank.”
Several of Quaid’s followers defended Hathaway, while another noted, “I find it more than a bit performative that you simultaneously argue conservatives in Hollywood should not lose out on work because of their politics but those on the Left should.”
Hathaway is fresh off two blockbusters with The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Odyssey. She next stars in the title role in Verity, based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel.
Quaid’s comments came after the actor posting a video suggesting that he would be a part of the sequel. In the video, he’s driving a car and declared, “Tom Cruise just called me! We’re making Days of Thunder 2!”
Paramount had no immediate comment.
Jonathan Levine will direct the new Thunder, with Will Staples writing the screenplay. Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper are producing. The sequel will be filmed for Imax and released June 2, 2028.
Below are Cruise and Hathaway announcing the film and Quaid’s video.
