Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed that a sequel to Brad Pitt and Damson Idris’s F1 is officially in full motion at Apple. “We’re working on a sequel,” he said speaking to the BBC at the Academy Awards luncheon in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The first film, released in summer 2025, roared to $630 million worldwide, racing past James Gunn’s Superman by about $15 million at the box office. In fact, the racing sports drama moved on to become Apple Original Films’ biggest theatrical hit so far.
62-year-old Brad Pitt played a veteran driver named Sonny Hayes, who is dragged back into Formula One racing after years away. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton co-produced the film and used his expertise to ensure that every part of the film looked and felt realistic. That it included incorporating real race weekends, real vehicles and real tracks.
And awards season ate up that realism, too. F1 picked up four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Bruckheimer admitted he was “surprised” and delighted by the recognition. “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,” he said. He also added, “I never worked with Brad Pitt before and it’s really a thrill to work with Brad.”
Right now, there’s no official news about whether or not the sequel would follow Brad Pitt’s character or whether it will continue the journey with Damson Idris career. But honestly, it’s hard to imagine them building a franchise around Sonny Hayes and then parking him in the garage. Bruckheimer confirmed he’ll “of course” be involved in casting decisions, which sounds like someone already flipping through call sheets.
The sequel chatter had been circling for months. Even at Apple TV’s press day, executives tried to dance around the subject. Apple’s Eddie Cue read a fan question about a follow-up, and Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told audiences to “stay tuned.”
Bruckheimer isn’t slowing down either. Heat 2 is on the runway. A new Days of Thunder is being mapped out. Another Top Gun, more Pirates of the Caribbean, and a UFO project he calls “very interesting” are all in development. “We’ve got a lot of things in the hopper,” he said. “We’re just waiting for one of them to get a great script and get it made.”
He also took a swing at the “theatres are dying” narrative. “When they say the theatres are dying, it’s because of us. Because we haven’t given things that people want to see.”
Well, F1 definitely gave people something to see. The sequel now has one job. Go faster.
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