Warning: spoilers ahead for “F1.”
“F1” could be on the road to getting a sequel after it broke box office records in its opening weekend.
Joseph Kosinski, the film’s director, said in interviews published by GQ and Entertainment Weekly last weekend that it’s up to the audience to decide if a sequel should be made.
So far, things are looking good.
The racing drama is already being dubbed a hit after it topped box office charts in its opening weekend, grossing $144 million worldwide. In the US, “F1” beat the record for the best domestic debut for an original movie held since 2020, which was broken earlier this year by “Sinners.”
“F1” is also Apple’s most successful theatrical debut. The movie was produced by the tech company’s original film branch, which has until now struggled to make box office hits.
F1 has grown in popularity in recent years thanks to shows like Netflix’s documentary series “Drive to Survive” and social media platforms like TikTok, Twitch, and podcasts.
Capitalizing on the trend, “F1” follows APXGP, an underdog Formula 1 racing team as it tries to win its first race and establish itself.
Damson Idris plays Joshua Pearce, a rookie for APXGP who represents the modern F1 driver. JP is forced to act like a celebrity by attending influencer parties, modeling, and constantly smiling for the camera.
Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a veteran racer whose F1 career was ruined by a near-fatal crash, is the opposite. He’s a rulebreaker who refuses to engage with the press, but APXGP is desperate, since the board plans to sell the team if they do not win their next competition.
“I think we leave it on a really open-ended moment for Sonny, for Kate, and for Joshua,” Kosinski told GQ, referring to Kerry Condon’s character Kate, who was APXGP’s technical director. “So yeah, I think there’s certainly more to tell of the APXGP team, and where Sonny Hayes goes from here. But that’s not my decision.”
The ‘F1’ director proposed a ‘Days of Thunder’ crossover starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt
In the interview with GQ, Kosinski was asked to pitch a film idea starring Tom Cruise and Pitt, as he worked with them in his last two films, “F1” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Kosinski suggested the film could be a crossover with the 1990s racing drama “Days of Thunder,” which starred Tom Cruise as a rookie NASCAR driver trying to win the Daytona 500.
Kosinski’s pitch was: “Well, right now, it’d be Cole Trickle, who was [Cruise’s] ‘Days of Thunder’ character, we find out that he and Sonny Hayes have a past. 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?” he added, referring to the 1994 movie, which starred both actors.
While the crossover movie is only an idea, Cruise did show up at the “F1” premiere.
Cruise and Pitt almost starred together in the Oscar-winning racing drama “Ford v. Ferrari.” When Kosinski was chosen as the movie’s director, they were going to play the rival lead characters, Shelby and Miles.
Kosinski told GQ that he, Pitt, and Cruise left the movie when the studio couldn’t meet his proposed budget, and James Mangold decided on a different cast.
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