Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise Almost Raced Together in Scrapped ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Movie

Tom Cruise surprised fans by showing up at the London premiere of F1, where he joined Brad Pitt on the red carpet. It was a big moment for movie lovers, as the two actors hadn’t been seen together publicly like this since starring in Interview With the Vampire back in 1994. That film, directed by Neil Jordan, marked the last time they shared the screen.

Pitt had recently said he’d love to work with Cruise again. While talking to E! News at the Mexico premiere of F1, he joked about it: “Well, I’m not gonna hang my ass off airplanes and shit like that,” he said. “So when he does something again that’s on the ground, [then yes].” That was a nod to Cruise’s famous love for wild, high-risk stunts in his action movies.

Both actors are leading major movies this summer. Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which broke records when it opened in May. It made $200 million around the world on its first weekend and has now brought in over $540 million.

Pitt, meanwhile, stars in F1, a racing drama made by Apple and Warner Bros. The movie was directed by Joseph Kosinski, who also directed Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick. The film’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, worked on both Top Gun and F1 as well.

In a recent interview with GQ, Kosinski shared that he once wanted Cruise and Pitt to star in a racing film together. His original plan was to cast both actors in a version of Ford v Ferrari, but the studio didn’t approve the budget.

Cruise and Pitt were even planning to do all their own driving in that movie. The idea fell apart, and James Mangold ended up making Ford v Ferrari with Christian Bale and Matt Damon instead.

Back when director Joseph Kosinski was working on a version of Ford v Ferrari, Pitt and Cruise were supposed to star in it together. They both wanted to do their own driving for real, and Kosinski supported that idea. But the studio didn’t approve the budget, and the project was dropped. Later, a different version of Ford v Ferrari was made with Christian Bale and Matt Damon instead, and Kosinski wasn’t involved.

Speaking about what it would’ve been like if Cruise had taken the wheel in F1, Kosinski told GQ, “Tom always pushes it to the limit, but at the same time is super capable and very skilled. They both have the natural talent for driving. But yeah, I could see Tom maybe scaring us a little bit more.”

Now, Kosinski has teamed up with Pitt again for F1, and this time, they’re doing everything they couldn’t do before. Pitt is really driving the race cars, not just pretending in front of a green screen. He trained hard and wanted to go full speed on real tracks. At first, the insurance team was worried about the danger.

Pitt jokes that they probably thought, “We can’t let Brad Pitt die.” But he explained that going slow is actually more dangerous, because the car doesn’t handle well unless it’s going fast.

Pitt grew up riding dirt bikes in Missouri, so racing isn’t totally new to him. Even his stunt trainer, former Formula 2 champ Luciano Bacheta, had to remind him to slow down during training, but Pitt didn’t always listen. “I became quite impassioned, needlessly,” he says, laughing. Eventually, the restrictions were lifted and he was allowed to push the car like a real driver.

The movie uses special cameras built for Top Gun: Maverick, now made even smaller, and attached to the race cars. The goal, according to Kosinski, was to make “the most authentic, realistic, and grounded racing movie ever made.”

While the two actors didn’t get to race together in that scrapped film, fans got to see them side by side again at the F1 premiere. Pitt, now leading the movie solo, still did his own driving on the track, something Cruise is well-known for in his own action-packed roles.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!