F1 has given Apple its biggest movie hit – and now plans are afoot to bring Brad Pitt back for a sequel. More here.
While reviews for Apple Studios’ F1 have been decidely mixed, the gambit seems to be paying off from a commercial perspective. Bundling a glamourous global brand with a movie star and a dash of dadcore looks to have given Apple what the studio has been chasing for a while now: a commercial success that it can be proud of.
Of course, there’s always the chance that those pesky reviews might cause a titanic second week drop-off – not least because a new Jurassic World movie is also releasing – but at this very moment, things look promising for a studio that has been in sore need of a hit after a string of releases that didn’t perform in line with expectations.
That seems to be a good thing for cinema overall, we’d argue. The movie landscape is better when there’s more active players and the last thing we need right now is that disappearance of another major movie studio. If Apple is keen to develop an F1 sequel for a cinema release.
The report originates with Variety in a wider piece which addresses how the commercial success of F1 thus far (it’s taken $146m globally already against an estimated production budget of $200-$300m) might influence Apple’s decision on how to proceed in the movie business.
The claim that a ‘sequel is officially in development’ is little more than an addendum in the piece, but does get you wondering if there’s some substance to the rumours that Paramount and Apple might be considering a co-production for an F1/Days Of Thunder crossover project. One which could unite Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in a vehicular battle for the ages?
It’s something that F1's director Joseph Kosinski has already publicly floated and given that he’s also collaborated with Cruise to bring the actor his biggest hit to date with 2021’s Top Gun: Maverick, you can see how this one could come together. Not least because each star and franchise gaining a little shine from the other.
Kosinski talked about the idea to GQ whilst promoting F1. “Well, right now, it’d be Cole Trickle, who was [Cruise’s] Days Of Thunder character, we find out that he and [Brad Pitt’s] 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?”
It would if they were both dressed as vampires. I’d watch that.
How eager Kosinski would be to jump straight back into the world of high-octane racing remains to be seen. The filmmaker has a UFO project with Jerry Bruckheimer in the works, and another Top Gun sequel too. Still, we can see all involved keen to make this happen and who knows, it might yet come to pass. We’ll bring you more as we hear it.
Suggested titles: F2 (they could do a whole line of these, bringing to the screen the top line of a computer keyboard, F1-2, G1, I’ll get my own coat etc….
