Randy Quaid blasted Anne Hathaway’s role in the Days of Thunder follow-up after the sequel announcement on Saturday. He said the film should bring back Nicole Kidman instead, turning a routine casting reveal into an open rebuke from one of the original stars.
Quaid, who starred with Tom Cruise in the 1990 film, wrote on X that Hathaway is a “leftist, woke, horrible choice for DAYS OF THUNDER NASCAR audience who are MAGA.” He also said, “The sexy older chick for Tom in this film needs to be Nicole.”
Quaid’s X criticism
Quaid went further in another post, writing, “That’s the casting that would sell the idea. It’s interesting because when we made the first one there was also a rush to get it out; editors slept in the cutting room on shifts. This is a weird thing, like they want it to come out and tank.” The attack matters because it comes from an actor tied to the original film, not from outside the project’s orbit.
He also wrote, “We need Nicole back. Don’t be a p***y, @TomCruise. You need the original girl. It’s not personal; it’s filmmaking. Anne isn’t sexy, because and if you haven’t noticed, she’s pregnant.” That line is the sharpest clue to his argument: he is objecting to the pairing itself, not just to Hathaway as a performer.
Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway
Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway are set to lead the sequel, with Cruise returning as Cole Trickle and Hathaway playing a racecar team owner and engineer. Jonathan Levine will direct, while Cruise is producing alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper.
Hathaway said in the announcement that she will give birth before filming commences, and she is pregnant with her third child. That detail sets the production on a different timeline than the one that supported the 1990 release, and it also explains why the casting conversation is already larger than a simple name-check.
June 2028 release
The sequel is slated for June 2028, giving the project a nearly 40-year gap from the original Days of Thunder. Quaid’s push for Nicole Kidman is not just nostalgia; it is a bid to keep the sequel visually tied to the earlier film rather than leaning on a new pairing.
Quaid said a real sequel worth watching would show “Tom and Nicole together on screen again” and added, “We don’t need a new girl; we need a new race car!” For now, that is the clearest split in the project: Cruise and Hathaway are attached, but the original cast question still hangs over a sequel built around a 2028 launch.
