Mission Possible? Jeff Gordon wants Tom Cruise to do 'Days of Thunder' sequel
The Hollywood Reporter noted last November that Cruise, also the star of the 'Mission Impossible' movies, was exploring a follow-up to his 1990 NASCAR film.
Dustin Long,
Cruise played 'Cole Trickle' in the movie. HIs role was loosely based on NASCAR driver Tim Richmond.
'I've absolutely talked to Tom about (a sequel) because I want him to do the project, and we want to be a part of it if it were to happen,' said Gordon, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, after William Byron's Daytona 500 win.
'(Cruise) seems to like to tease it, so I don't know. We'll see what happens. If that doesn't happen, I feel pretty confident there's a project out there that will get NASCAR back on the big screen, if not just a really cool docuseries or something beyond even what we're already seeing right now.'
Nate Ryan,
The 'Days of Thunder' movie was a seminal moment for the sport, giving it a big-screen presence as NASCAR's popularity began to rocket.
Other movies followed.
They included the 'Cars' movie franchise, which debuted in 2006 — the premiere was at Charlotte Motor Speedway — and had sequels in 2011 and '17. Will Ferrell starred in 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby' in 2006.
Even if Cruise doesn't do another 'Days of Thunder' movie, future coming attractions could include a NASCAR-themed project.
'I am seeing just a lot more momentum in projects like coming through NASCAR and coming to Hendrick Motorsports and just more interest,' Gordon said. 'So that's good, right? It talks a lot about where the sport is at, where it's heading, the amazing crowd that was here all weekend, not just (Sunday), new TV partners.
'So I do think that there's this kind of resurgence, which is awesome, and there's also a whole new landscape of opportunities with streaming services and docuseries and also the big screen, which I think it would be amazing to do.'
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