Brad Pitt is 62 years old, man. It was absurd that Pitt’s Sonny Hayes would win a race in a mid-pack car—sorry, spoilers—in “F1: The Movie” when it released last summer, but to believe that he’s still a competitive racer in whatever sequel Jerry Bruckheimer and the studio writers can come up with over the next couple of years will be beyond the pale. But, because the Apple Studios film made more than $630 million at the box office (against a rumored half-billion dollar budget, mind you), and was nominated for four Oscars (including Best Picture, which is bonkers), it’s being greenlit for a sequel, reports Motorsport.
I really hope that the plot of this film sees Pitt move to a managerial role, or maybe he just drops by for a cameo while on his way to compete at Dakar or something.
The 2025 blockbuster smash Formula 1 drama, itself a mixture of various movie tropes set to a jetset backdrop, was filmed during real races across two seasons of competition in 2023 and 2024. Even if the team started filming this year, a similar schedule would put this film’s release in the summer of 2028 at the earliest. There’s just no way Pitt can carry a racing movie at 65, I refuse to believe it. Then again, after the success of “Top Gun: Maverick,” the old guys still have the juice.
Part of the joy of filming the F1 movie during the season is that the shooting team were actually able to get real live audiences and real live on-track battles playing out in front of their cameras. It’s a technique that dates back to John Frankenheimer’s “Grand Prix” in 1966, and works just as well in big 2026.
Sequel mania
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer told the BBC this week that a sequel is officially in the works. “We’re working on a sequel,” said Bruckheimer, but declined to comment on a timeline or casting details.
“It was a long journey to get the movie made because we had to endure a couple of strikes – but in the end, the movie entertained audiences around the world,” Jerry continued. “I never worked with Brad Pitt before and it’s really a thrill to work with Brad.”
Bruckheimer himself is 82 years and much of his recent work has been rehashes of his greatest hits. “F1 The Movie” excepted, including “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” and the aforementioned “Maverick.” Upcoming projects with Bruckheimer attached include “Heat 2,” another “Top Gun,” another “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and a “Days of Thunder” sequel (reuniting with Tom Cruise). In fact, there was some talk about merging Tom Cruise’s Cole Trickle return into the F1 sequel.
Somewhat ironically, in the very same BBC interview, Bruckheimer concluded “When they say the theatres are dying, it’s because of us. Because we haven’t given things that people want to see.”
Look, “F1 The Movie” was fun, but it was definitely not good. It was a big play by Apple to get its audience invested in the sport before buying the broadcast rights for Apple TV+, and by all accounts it worked.
If they’re going to run with a big, brash, and beautiful F1 movie, I’d like to see Damson Idris brought firmly into the lead role, showing what it’s like for a young athlete to achieve, and perhaps struggle with, World Championship success. I just hope they don’t call the “F1” sequel “F2”.
