Tom Cruise has been criticised by his former Days of Thunder co-star Randy Quaid after Nicole Kidman was left out of the cast announced for the long-awaited sequel.
Cruise will reprise his role as racing driver Cole Trickle in Days of Thunder 2, with Anne Hathaway joining the project as a race-team owner and engineer. Paramount has scheduled the film for release on June 2, 2028. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/8515e8b485c878cb67d9495a093fa43d?utm_source=openai))
Quaid, who played team owner Tim Daland in the 1990 original, objected to Hathaway’s casting in a post on X and called it a “leftist, woke, horrible choice” for the film’s NASCAR audience. He argued that Kidman, who played doctor Claire Lewicki opposite Cruise, should return instead.
“The sexy older chick for Tom in this film needs to be Nicole,” Quaid wrote, adding: “We need Nicole [Kidman] back.” ([forbes.com](https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2026/08/30/randy-quaid-slams-woke-casting-of-anne-hathaway-in-days-of-thunder-2/?utm_source=openai))
Kidman and Cruise met while making Days of Thunder and married later in 1990. They went on to appear together in Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut before divorcing in 2001. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/31c5ea6dd66ba4d14b17deda3559b031?utm_source=openai))
The sequel announcement showed Cruise and Hathaway beside a racing car bearing the new film’s logo. Hathaway, who is pregnant, said she would have her baby before making the film, while Cruise confirmed its planned summer 2028 release. ([forbes.com](https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2026/08/30/randy-quaid-slams-woke-casting-of-anne-hathaway-in-days-of-thunder-2/?utm_source=openai))
