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

Tom Cruise made an unexpected appearance at the London premiere of the movie F1, joining Brad Pitt on the red carpet. Fans were excited to see the two actors together for the first time since their 1994 film Interview With the Vampire. That movie was the last time they appeared on screen together.

Brad Pitt recently mentioned in an interview that he would like to work with Cruise again. Speaking to E! News at the Mexico premiere of F1, Pitt joked about the kind of roles Cruise takes. He said, “Well, I’m not gonna hang my ass off airplanes and shit like that. So when he does something again that’s on the ground, [then yes].”

This was a clear reference to Cruise’s well-known passion for doing his own dangerous stunts.

Both actors are starring in big films this summer. Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which opened in May with a huge $200 million worldwide and has now earned over $540 million.

Pitt is leading F1, a racing drama directed by Joseph Kosinski, who also directed Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick. The producer Jerry Bruckheimer worked on both films as well.

Kosinski recently told GQ that he had once planned to bring Cruise and Pitt together in a new version of Ford v Ferrari. Both actors were ready to do their own driving for real. But the studio didn’t approve the budget needed for that project, so it was canceled. Later, James Mangold directed Ford v Ferrari with Christian Bale and Matt Damon instead, without Kosinski’s involvement.

Kosinski said about Cruise, “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 is working with Pitt again on F1, and this time Pitt is driving the race cars himself. The film uses special cameras built smaller than those used in Top Gun: Maverick, placed on the race cars to give a real driver’s view. Pitt trained hard and wanted to race at full speed, but at first, the insurance company was worried about safety.

Pitt joked that the insurance team probably thought, “We can’t let Brad Pitt die.” He explained that driving slowly is actually more dangerous because the cars need speed to handle properly.

Pitt grew up riding dirt bikes in Missouri, so racing is familiar to him. Even his stunt trainer, a former Formula 2 champion named Luciano Bacheta, had to tell him to slow down sometimes, but Pitt didn’t always listen. He admitted, “I became quite impassioned, needlessly.”

The goal for F1, according to Kosinski, was to make the most authentic and realistic racing movie ever. The special cameras and real driving helped achieve that.

Although Cruise and Pitt didn’t get to race together in the canceled Ford v Ferrari film, fans got to see them side by side again at the F1 premiere. Pitt leads the new movie and drives for real on the track, continuing a tradition Cruise is famous for with his action roles.

From my point of view, it’s a shame the Ford v Ferrari project with Cruise and Pitt didn’t happen. Both actors pushing themselves to do real driving sounds like it could have been an incredible movie.

Still, it’s great to see them together again and to know Pitt is taking racing seriously in F1. What do you think about this missed chance for a movie with both stars? Share your thoughts in the comments below!