Tom Cruise is looking to make a sequel to another of its action classics, and it’s not the one you’d expect.

The actor speaks to Primordial about a follow-up to his 1990 NASCAR racing film Thunder days.

At first glance, the idea seems rather bold. Thunder was not considered a box office success upon its release (earning $157 million worldwide on a production budget of $60 million), and the film received mixed to negative reviews from the from the critics. But after relaunching and modernizing the 1986 Top Gun with the 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverickactor thinks he can work similar magic with his racing drama (which, like the original Top Gunwas a Paramount film produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott). A Thunder the revival has already been launched – Paramount has already proposed a reboot of the title as a TV show for Paramount+, a idea that Cruise rejected.

Key factors include the project’s storyline (the studio is now looking for potential screenwriters) and the 62-year-old actor-producer’s busy schedule. Cruise is about to start filming The ghost by filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu next mysterious film for Warner Bros./Legendary, development of a Doug Liman film for Universal which takes place in real spaceand he develops a sequel to Nonconformist (which Cruise and Paramount both consider a top priority).

“He talks (to Paramount) about Top Gun And Thunder days“, says a studio insider familiar with the discussions. “It will be what comes together first in terms of storyline. It depends on the idea and, ultimately, the storyline. (Cruise, according to sources, has script approval for all its projects).

Racing films have become all the rage lately, with the success of James Mangold’s 2019 film. Ford vs. FerrariMichael Mann’s less successful racing drama in 2023 Ferrariand next year’s F1 – which stars Brad Pitt and is directed by Nonconformist director Joseph Kosinski (who would apparently be the ideal choice to direct Thunderbut we imagine that he would not be very enthusiastic about the idea of ​​making consecutive racing films). The glut of recent fast track car projects raises the prospect of a resurrection Thunder even more intimidating (imagine if Nonconformist was released after three other fighter driver films), but at least none of the other titles specifically explore the world of NASCAR racing, which has a decidedly different American vibe compared to the more European world of Le Mans and Formula 1.

“I don’t think one (Thunder days sequel) is a really bad idea,” the Paramount source added (the studio declined to comment for this story). “One could have said that revisiting Top Gun It was a very bad idea. I wouldn’t rule it out.

Thunder days certainly has its followers, including Quentin Tarantino, fan and collaborator of Tony Scott. “My favorite (racing film) is hands down Thunder days“, the director was cited as said in 2013. “Yeah, yeah, you’re laughing, but seriously, I’m a big fan. Sure, it had a big budget, big stars and a big director in Tony Scott, but it had the fun of those early films (American International Picture Racing). I just don’t think (gender) works if you take it all too seriously. Thunder Also remembered is the film in which Cruise met his ex-wife of 11 years, Nicole Kidman, who starred in the project as a neurosurgeon and love interest of Cruise’s USAC pilot Cole Trickle.

Then there’s the highly anticipated film from writer-director Christopher McQuarrie Mission: Impossible 8which is finally packaged and in post-production. The project has had a long and difficult journey, with a budget reportedly approaching $400 million due to production delays – in part due to Hollywood strikes in 2023.

Even if the franchise remains very popular and constitutes the seventh opus of 2022 Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One garnered widespread praise (scoring over 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes among critics and audiences), the last film’s pre-release budget was nearly $300 million, and its box office return was considered disappointing ($566 million worldwide). Making things harder for the next movie, By dead reckoning ended on a cliffhanger – breaking everyone’s tradition MID the adventure being a standalone entry where each film is fully accessible to a new audience. Paramount has since removed “Part One” from the title of 7. The title of the new film will be revealed in the coming weeks when Paramount releases the first M:I 8 trailer.

An intriguing aspect: Paramount wants to promote M:I 8 as the “final” entry in the action franchise in order to stimulate audience interest. Still, Cruise resisted saying a public goodbye to Ethan Hunt — which isn’t surprising, considering the actor is preternaturally youthful. was cited last year as saying he hopes to continue doing MID films up to 80 years old. (“Harrison Ford is a legend, I have 20 years to catch up with him,” Cruise said. “I hope to continue doing Mission: Impossible movies until I was his age. “)

Still, Paramount is optimistic about M:I 8 and optimistically wants to bring the film to Cannes – a move that has recently developed a reputation as high risk for big-budget mainstream projects, given how the festival’s critical reception was torpedoed. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny And Horizon: an American saga months before the opening of each title. At least in the case of M:I 8the festival is scheduled just before M:I 8 opens in theaters (Cannes from May 13 to 24; M:I 8 the release date is May 23), so all the reviews from France will arrive around the same time, or right after, the film has already had its world premiere and national critical screenings.

“I think Tom is in a good position,” the studio insider noted. “And I think Assignment it’s going to be really good.

— Pamela McClintock and Mia Galuppo contributed to this report