Immediately after its announcement, it is a certainty that Tom Cruise’s next legacy sequel will be compared to the upcoming F1 movie from none other than the director of Top Gun: Maverick. Cruise has been one of the biggest movie stars in the world for decades. In recent years, sequels to some of his most iconic movies have been shaping his career more than anything else; Mission: Impossible 8 will hit theaters in 2025, a third Top Gun movie is being developed, and it’s rumored that a sequel to Edge of Tomorrow could be greenlit.

In addition to the aforementioned movies, a sequel to Cruise’s 1990 movie Days of Thunder is being made. Days of Thunder follows the rivalry-turned-friendship between NASCAR drivers Cole Trickle and Rowdy Burns. While the original movie only has a score of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, Cruise has a desire to make a sequel to Days of Thunder. However, assuming the Days of Thunder sequel is released in the next few years, this means that it will immediately be compared to F1, the 2025 racing movie from Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski.

2025’s F1 Movie Causes Two Problems For Tom Cruise’s Days Of Thunder 2 Plan

F1 And Days Of Thunder 2 Will Both Be High-Budget Racing Movies

The first problem that Joseph Kosinski’s upcoming F1 movie will create for Days of Thunder is that it looks like it is going to raise the bar for racing films. Based on the trailer for F1, the Brad Pitt-led racing movie looks poised to revolutionize how high-speed races are presented on the big screen. Even though Kosinski’s upcoming film is based on Formula 1 drivers and Cruise’s Days of Thunder sequel will follow NASCAR drivers, there will undoubtedly be a lot of competition surrounding how the races in both movies are filmed.

Secondly, Kosinski would likely be a top pick to direct the Days of Thunder sequel. However, this is a problem since there is a chance that Kosinski would not want to direct another racing movie right after F1. Although, it’s also possible that Kosinski will learn a lot from shooting F1 and will want to apply his newfound skills to the Tom Cruise sequel, which would imply that Days of Thunder 2 could be even better than F1. Kosinski clearly has a good relationship with Cruise, so anything is possible.

Can Tom Cruise Recapture Top Gun: Maverick’s Success?

Top Gun: Maverick Became The Biggest Movie In The World

While there is a lot of hype surrounding every new Tom Cruise project, it’s hard to imagine that Days of Thunder 2 will be as successful as Top Gun: Maverick. After being delayed for years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Top Gun: Maverick was finally released in 2022 with the hopes that moviegoers would want to see it on the biggest screen possible. This paid off, as the movie made just under $1.5 billion at the global box office, and received incredible reviews from critics.

Therefore, even though the original Days of Thunder has a low Rotten Tomatoes score, that doesn’t mean that a sequel won’t be incredible.

Top Gun: Maverick is actually Tom Cruise’s second highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 96%. In comparison, the original Top Gun has a score of 58%. Therefore, even though the original Days of Thunder has a low Rotten Tomatoes score, that doesn’t mean that a sequel won’t be incredible. Even though it is unlikely that Days of Thunder 2 will match the praise of Top Gun: Maverick, hopefully it will still be another Tom Cruise success.