Anne Hathaway too “woke” to play in Days of Thunder 2?
Randy Quaid, present in the original film, rejects this casting choice and believes that the Devil Wears Prada star does not sit well with the NASCAR public.
The return of Days of Thunder is already sparking. While Tom Cruise is set to reprise his role as Cole Trickle in this sequel to Tony Scott’s film, Anne Hathaway has just joined the cast.
A choice that does not convince Randy Quaid, who played Tim Daland in the first film. On X, the actor called for the return of Nicole Kidman, who played Dr. Claire Lewicki, Tom Cruise’s love interest in the original film.
“We need Nicole. Don’t be a coward, Tom Cruise. You need the original girl. It’s not personal, it’s cinema”he wrote, before directly attacking Anne Hathaway, with a remark about her pregnancy.
We need Nicole back. Don’t be a pussy, @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. https://t.co/7qid5SDnkv
— Randy Quaid (@RandyRRQuaid) August 29, 2026
In a second message, Quaid, an outspoken Trumpist supporter, then shifted the controversy to the political arena:
“Anne Hathaway is a leftist, woke, horrible choice for the NASCAR audience of Days of Thunder, which is a MAGA audience!
As NASCAR is particularly popular with a conservative public in the United States, the choice of Anne Hathaway thus becomes, for Randy Quaid, a political question.
Anne Hathaway is a leftist, woke, horrible choice for DAYS OF THUNDER NASCAR audiences who are MAGA. The sexy older chick for Tom in this film needs to be Nicole. That’s the casting that would sell the idea. It’s interesting because when we made the first one there was also a…
— Randy Quaid (@RandyRRQuaid) August 29, 2026
In Days of Thunderreleased in 1990, Randy Quaid played the owner of the team who recruited the young driver Cole Trickle, played by Tom Cruise. Nicole Kidman played Dr. Claire Lewicki. Robert Duvall, Cary Elwes and John C. Reilly were also in the cast.
For the moment, Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway are well announced in the casting of this sequel, which must therefore bring together more than thirty years after the original film the star of Top Gun and a new on-screen partner.
