Tom Cruise made a surprise appearance at the London premiere of F1, joining Brad Pitt on the red carpet and marking their first public reunion in over three decades. The two last appeared on screen together in 1994’s gothic cult classic Interview with the Vampire, directed by Neil Jordan, where they portrayed immortal adversaries.
The red carpet moment quickly became a full-circle event for the two Hollywood heavyweights, reigniting buzz around a long-abandoned high-octane racing project that once aimed to reunite them on screen. Director Joseph Kosinski, who helms F1 and previously collaborated with Cruise on Top Gun: Maverick, revealed in a recent GQ interview that he had originally envisioned Cruise and Pitt co-starring in his own take on Ford v Ferrari. The project would have featured both actors performing their own driving stunts—a hallmark of Cruise’s action career, and a challenge Pitt now takes on in F1.
“It was going to be them, behind the wheel, doing it all,” Kosinski recalled. “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.”
Despite early excitement surrounding the casting, the project was ultimately shelved due to budgetary concerns. Ford v Ferrari was later realized by director James Mangold, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon. Released in 2019, the film received widespread critical acclaim and earned four Academy Award nominations, winning two.
At the F1 premiere, Cruise and Pitt posed for photographers, their appearance renewing public interest in their long-standing professional camaraderie. Pitt had recently shared his willingness to working with Cruise again, though he noted that certain extreme stunts may not be of interest. “Well, I’m not gonna hang my ass off airplanes and [stuff] like that,” Pitt quipped in an interview with E! News earlier this month. “So when he does something again that’s on the ground, [then yes].”
Both actors are currently leading major summer releases. Tom Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which premiered in May with a $200 million global debut—marking the franchise’s strongest opening to date. The film has since grossed over $540 million worldwide.
Brad Pitt, meanwhile, headlines F1, a collaboration between Apple Original Films and Warner Bros., directed by Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Bruckheimer also produced Top Gun: Maverick and several Mission: Impossible installments, linking the two stars once again behind the scenes.
In F1, Pitt performs many of his own driving sequences, echoing the vision once held for the Cruise-Pitt racing collaboration that never came to be. For now, audiences will have to settle for the red carpet reunion; an exciting glimpse into a partnership that might have redefined the adrenaline-fueled racing genre.
F1 opens in theaters worldwide on June 27.
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