F1: The Movie shot straight to pole position at the worldwide box office when it opened last June. Ultimately, it earned over $630 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing sports film of all time.
It was also last year's most successful original feature, delivering the biggest opening for an original live-action film in the US in the last five years, as well as Brad Pitt's highest-grossing feature to date. The film received an A CinemaScore, along with an impressive 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (where it was "Certified Fresh" with critics at 82%).
Executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer has already confirmed that a sequel to F1: The Movie is in the works, and now Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton has shared a few more insights into the project.
"We are already working on the first script," the seven-time Formula 1 Drivers' Champion revealed. "We had our first meeting maybe mid-to-late the second part of the end of the year. Me, Jerry, Joe [Kosinski] talking about different ideas, different directions that we could go with the script."
"And then with Ehren [Kruger], we've had plenty of meetings on it. So it's really exciting. I'm super excited. Now I've been through it, and it was already very intense the first time going. Now I'm used to it. So I know what to expect."
"I know what we could do better," Hamilton added, perhaps referring to some of the complaints fans had about the liberties F1: The Movie took with the sport's realism. "And it's been amazing to see how big an impact it's had, how many people have loved the movie. I'm still getting texts from people who are still only just watching the movie and how it's opened their eyes up to what this sport is about."
"[It] sent them down a rabbit hole trying to understand it more. The second one is important. Sequels often aren't always great. And we've got a great team, got a great cast, great writer," he noted. "So I'm not concerned about that, but we're going to take our time and make sure we get it just the way it needs to be."
As Hamilton's Formula 1 career begins winding down—many believe he'll retire if his second year in Ferrari isn't a success—much has been said about him shifting his attentions to a Hollywood career. However, he's not angling for a bigger role in this sequel.
"I don't really have a lot of desire to be on camera, and I've had loads of opportunities to be in movies. I really liked the idea of being in the background. It was an amazing experience, and it's so much more enjoyable, I think, than actually being on camera."
"I know a lot of actors whom I really admire. The craft is such a hard business to be in, and to take on these characters is such a challenge. I don't know if that's really something I'll be particularly great at."
Despite that, Hamilton confirmed that he's "planning on producing lots of different TV shows, documentaries and movies."
Apple TV has yet to officially announce an F1: The Movie sequel, but with work underway, that will likely change later this year. It seems everyone involved, including Formula 1, would rather not rush a project that has so much riding on it.
Dubbed "the greatest that never was," Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1's most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse.
Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team’s hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition — and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.