The ‘Ford v Ferrari’ That Almost Was: Brad Pitt Spills Why It Fell Apart

Before Ford v Ferrari hit screens with Christian Bale and Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise nearly took the wheel in their own version of the racing drama. But according to Pitt, the brakes were slammed on that version when Cruise learned just how little driving his character would actually be doing.

“Tom and I, for a while there, were on Ford v Ferrari with Joe [to direct],” Pitt told The National. “This was about 10 years before the guys who actually made it – and made it a great movie. What it came down to is that we both wanted to drive, and [Tom] 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.”

The original project, which would’ve been directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski, was ultimately dropped due to budget issues and creative differences. The film eventually landed in the hands of James Mangold and became a critical and box office hit. Pitt and Cruise moved on, but the idea of them burning rubber on-screen together hasn’t gone away entirely.

Kosinski, now riding high after directing Apple’s F1 with Pitt, is once again floating the idea of teaming the two A-listers. In an interview with GQ Magazine UK, he teased the potential for an F1 sequel that could merge with Cruise’s Days of Thunder universe. “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,” said Kosinski. “They were rivals at some point, maybe crossed paths.”

While a sequel isn’t confirmed, Pitt is already game. “I would want to drive again, selfishly speaking,” he told The National. “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.”

The success of F1, which opened to $144 million worldwide, is giving the team confidence. Pitt said, “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.”

So while Pitt and Cruise didn’t get to race side by side a decade ago, the checkered flag might still be somewhere on the horizon.

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