Randy Quaid Turns 'Days of Thunder 2' Into a Fight Over Anne Hathaway
USA Today reported that Quaid called Hathaway a "horrible choice" and pushed Tom Cruise to bring Nicole Kidman back instead. The argument says less about the sequel's actual setup than about how quickly a new casting can get flattened into old romance talk.
Randy Quaid spent the last weekend of August turning the new Days of Thunder sequel into a gripe about Anne Hathaway. USA Today reported on Aug. 31, 2026 that Quaid called Hathaway a "horrible choice" on X and argued that Tom Cruise should bring Nicole Kidman back instead. For film readers, the point is not the insult itself. It is that the sequel announced on Aug. 29 already has Hathaway in a new role, yet the loudest reaction keeps treating her like a replacement for Kidman rather than the character she actually plays.
Quaid's X posts shove the sequel off its track
According to USA Today, Quaid wrote, "We need Nicole back" and "Anne isn't sexy" after the sequel news landed. He also called Hathaway a "leftist, woke" choice and tied the film to a MAGA audience. The Daily Beast added that Quaid later posted a clip claiming he had been cast in the sequel, then kept going with more attacks on Hathaway.
That is a strange way to talk about a racing movie, but it is also a familiar one. A sequel gets announced, the actual plot is still thin, and somebody decides the important question is which familiar face should be restored to keep the old memory intact. Quaid made that instinct loud, ugly, and very public.
Photo: Eliza George Matter · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Hathaway is not playing Kidman's old part
The cleaner reading comes from the casting itself. USA Today reported that Hathaway will play a racing team owner and engineer. Cruise returns as Cole Trickle, the original film's driver, and nothing in the reporting says Hathaway is there as the sequel's love interest.
That distinction matters. Quaid's complaint only works if you flatten every woman in the frame into the same function. The actual setup is different. Hathaway is being placed inside the racing world with authority and technical knowledge, not handed the old Claire Lewicki part because the sequel needs a woman beside Cruise.
The announcement video made that clear in a small, useful way. Cruise and Hathaway appeared together at Daytona International Speedway to tease the film, and Hathaway joked, "I'm gonna have this baby and we're gonna make this movie." USA Today also reported that the film is due June 2, 2028 and is being shot for IMAX. That is the real movie on the table, not the fantasy version Quaid decided to argue with.
