Days of Thunder 2 is barely a few hours old and already has its first controversy, courtesy of the original cast.
Randy Quaid, who played race team owner Tim Daland in the 1990 original, spent Saturday torching the sequel’s casting of Anne Hathaway, demanding Tom Cruise bring back Nicole Kidman instead and claiming Cruise personally called him about the movie.
Cruise and Hathaway announced Days of Thunder 2 earlier in the day with a video from Daytona International Speedway, setting a June 2, 2028 release date. Hathaway plays a race team owner and engineer.
Quaid, for one, isn’t sold.
Randy Quaid demands Nicole Kidman replace Anne Hathaway
In a string of posts on X, Quaid called Hathaway a “leftist, woke, horrible choice” for a NASCAR fanbase he describes as MAGA.
The casting that would actually sell the movie, according to Quaid: Nicole Kidman, who played Cole Trickle’s love interest, Dr. Claire Lewicki, in the original, and who met and married Cruise while making it.
“We don’t need a new girl; we need a new race car!” Quaid wrote, adding that a real sequel worth watching would put Cruise and Kidman back on screen together.
Quote-tweeting Cruise’s announcement, Quaid went straight at his old co-star: “Don’t be a pussy, @TomCruise.” It’s not personal, he added — it’s filmmaking.
He even took a shot at Hathaway’s pregnancy, writing that she isn’t sexy because she’s pregnant.
Worth remembering: the pregnancy was part of the announcement itself, with Cruise and Hathaway joking that filming starts once the baby arrives.
Quaid claims Tom Cruise called him about the sequel
Hours before the rants, Quaid also posted a selfie video from inside a car claiming Cruise had just called him, telling the camera they’re making Days of Thunder 2. The clip has already racked up over 200,000 views.
Paramount’s announcement names only Cruise and Hathaway, so the phone call is Quaid’s claim and nothing more until someone confirms it.
As of now, the confirmed Days of Thunder 2 cast is Cruise and Hathaway. Whether Quaid’s phone actually rang — and whether Tim Daland gets back in the garage — remains to be seen.
Days of Thunder 2 opens in theaters on June 2, 2028.
