Both Top Gun: Maverick and F1: The Movie share two common threads — satisfying the need for speed, and putting Joseph Kosinski in the director’s chair. As the Brad Pitt-starring movie steers into theatres, the filmmaker has shared his dream vision for a sequel, and it goes full throttle on the ambition.
Speaking to GQ Magazine UK, Kosinski expressed interest in exploring a Days of Thunder and F1 crossover, which would reunite Pitt and Tom Cruise for the first time after 1994’s horror classic Interview With the Vampire.
“Well, right now, it’d be Cole Trickle, who was [Cruise’s] Days of Thunder character, we find out that he and [Brad Pitt’s] Sonny Hayes have a past,” he said. “They were rivals at some point, maybe crossed paths… I heard about this epic go-kart battle on Interview With a Vampire that Brad and Tom had, and who wouldn’t pay to see those two go head-to-head on the track?”
The idea first blossomed when Kosinski was working to bring his own version of Ford v Ferrari to the big screen. It would have seen the actors pulling off the driving stunts by themselves, but his desired budget was not approved, resulting in a hand-off to James Mangold (Logan) and the leading pair of Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) and Matt Damon (The Martian).
Based on the Formula One World Championship, F1 is developed in collaboration with FIA, its governing body, with Damson Idris (Snowfall), Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul), Tobias Menzies (Outlander), and Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Man) serving as co-stars. The film is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Kosinski, seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Chad Oman.
It shares some similarities to the 1990 sports action drama pic Days of Thunder, which follows Cole Trickle, a talented racer who befriends Rowdy after they both end up in a hospital for their antics on a race track, while another competitor tries to create problems for Cole and defeat him. It featured appearances by real-life NASCAR drivers, including Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, Neil Bonnett, and Harry Gant.
As for the Top Gun: Maverick sequel, Kosinski previously revealed that it was still in the scripting stage with returning screenwriter Ehren Kruger (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Ghost in the Shell), but fans can expect an “ambitious” premise:
“It was about coming up with an idea that, again, felt like a new challenge. Something that opens up the story in a way you just can’t let go. And I think the idea is so ambitious. That’s what’s exciting to me.”
(image credit for header image: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images)
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
Kevin Low
