Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to 'Days of Thunder' sequel confirmation, details make or break point of movie

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some interesting things to say about the Days of Thunder sequel, which has been confirmed by movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer. On Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt shared his reaction to the news and revealed what will make or break the film.

“The more of the original cast members, the better,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “This is very similar to the Rocky series and remakes for Rocky. But eventually, Rocky is too old to fight, and they had to shift to this Creed. That was difficult for me, just as somebody who had watched all the originals and the whole thing, one, two, three, and four and all that.

“I would need Tom Cruise to still be racing. Tom Cruise not in a race car for the entire movie doesn’t work for me. He can’t be an owner. Now, I think Rowdy Burns (played by Michael Rooker) could be an owner. I could see Rowdy Burns at this point in the storyline; he’s aged out, no longer driving and he’s now maybe some owner in the sport.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants all orginal cast members for ‘Days of Thunder Sequel

Earnhardt continued, “I would bring back all the original cast members and have them at least make a brief appearance in the movie, if not have heavy roles. The Russ Wheeler character (played by Cary Elwes), I would love it if he was still racing. I don’t know where he’s at, what he looks like these days, but if he’s taking good care of himself, I think you could pass him off as a veteran driver.

“I feel like we’re going to have to accept some younger cast members. There’s no choice. There’s going to be this young driver that’s very similar to what we’re seeing in the F1 movie, where you have the old guard and the new guard, right? I just can’t see any way around that. But that’ll be a part of that either makes or breaks the movie.”

Cruise, Rooker and Elwes were part of the original cast along with Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, John C. Reilly and Nicole Kidman. Days of Thunder just celebrated its 35th anniversary, as it was released on June 27, 1990. The film made $158 million at the box office and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound.