Brad Pitt Says His ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Movie With Tom Cruise Got Axed After Cruise Found Out He ‘Would Not Be Driving Much in the Movie’

Brad Pitt is currently contemplating an “F1” sequel, as Variety reported that Apple is already talking about a potential follow-up to the racing movie after its $144 million worldwide opening.

“I would want to drive again, selfishly speaking,” Pitt told The National about a sequel. “F1 is still the focus. It needs to be on Joshua Pierce – Damson Idris’s character – and the rest of the team fighting for a championship. Where does Sonny fit in? I’m not sure. Sonny’s probably out on the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting speed records or something like that. So I’m not sure beyond that, just yet.”

“Right now, I’m just pleased as punch that something like this can bring people together. That’s the power of this kind of cinema,” Pitt added.

“F1” director Joseph Kosinski has already floated the idea of making a sequel that would reunite Pitt with his “Interview With a Vampire” co-star Tom Cruise, who showed up to support his friend on the “F1” carpet in London before the film’s opening. The filmmaker went as far to say an “F1” sequel could be a crossover with Cruise’s NASCAR hit “Days of Thunder.”

“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,” Kosinski told GQ Magazine UK about his dream pitch. “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?”

Kosinski originally planned to bring Pitt and Cruise together on the big screen in his own version of “Ford v Ferrari.” The actors were going to do all of their own racing in the movie, but the studio would not approve Kosinski’s desired budget. James Mangold ended up directing “Ford v Ferrari” with Christian Bale and Matt Damon instead. Pitt told The National there was another reason their “Ford v Ferrari” never took.

“Tom and I, for a while there, were on ‘Ford v Ferrari’ with Joe . This was about 10 years before the guys who actually made it – and made it a great movie,” Pitt said. “What it came down to is that we both wanted to drive, and wanted to play Shelby, and I wanted to play Ken Miles. And when Tom realized that Carroll Shelby would not be driving much in the movie, it didn’t come through. So I’m not sure how that’s going to work , but we’ll give it a go. I’d love to.”

For now, Pitt is just enjoying the success of “F1,” saying: “We were all a bit white-knuckled to see if it was going to come through. We are delightfully surprised that everything that we had aimed for, and then some, came to fruition.”

“F1” is now playing in theaters nationwide from Apple and Warner Bros.