Actor Randy Quaid has publicly criticised Tom Cruise's casting of Anne Hathaway as his love interest in the newly announced "Days of Thunder" sequel, arguing that Nicole Kidman should have reprised her role from the 1990 original instead. The remarks, posted on X, mix crude commentary on Hathaway's appearance and pregnancy with political attacks branding her a "leftist, woke" choice unsuited to the film's NASCAR audience, drawing criticism online, including accusations of hypocrisy given Quaid's past defence of conservative actors facing industry backlash.

In the original film, Quaid played a race team owner opposite Kidman's neurosurgeon love interest, while Hathaway is set to play a team owner and engineer in the sequel. The new instalment, directed by Jonathan Levine with a screenplay by Will Staples and produced by Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper, will be shot for Imax and released on 2 June 2028. Hathaway, currently riding high on "The Devil Wears Prada 2" and "The Odyssey", is next set to star in "Verity"; Quaid's outburst followed an earlier video in which he had jokingly implied Cruise had invited him to take part in the sequel.