A second Formula 1 movie is in development, according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer, as quoted by the BBC.
Bruckheimer did not give any further details as to the timeline, casting decisions or whether Joseph Kosinski would return as director, but his acknowledgement that "we're working on a sequel" serves as the first official confirmation of a green-lighting that had long seemed inevitable.
F1's collaboration with Apple Studios on the movie was a big risk but one that paid off in terms of yield. Box Office Mojo, an Amazon-owned movie revenue tracking website, claims it grossed over $600million worldwide, against a reported $300 million budget.
That is not necessarily an earth-shattering return by industry standards, but the movie clearly generated a lot of publicity for F1 while also emerging as a surprise player in the awards season.
F1 was announced to have secured four Academy Awards nominations last month, and while three of those came in technical categories (best sound, best editing, best visual effects), it was also a shock addition to the Best Picture field, meaning it is vying for the top honour of this year's Oscars against critical darlings like One Battle After Another, Sinners and Sentimental Value.
F1 coming out on top against any of those movies in the Best Picture race is virtually unthinkable. Its lukewarm-to-positive critical reception doesn't fit the usual mould of awards season darlings, though it is also not a huge outlier in that sense - having received reviews comparable to those of 2023 nominee Elvis or 2025 nominee Emilia Perez.
But the nomination itself will have been a huge mark of prestige for Bruckheimer and Apple Studios, which will only have boosted the case for a sequel.
Director Kosinski seems like a no-brainer to return, given F1 is the second Best Picture nominee he had shepherded for Bruckheimer after Top Gun: Maverick (which was admittedly by all reports a much bigger financial success).
Lead actor Brad Pitt is now 62. Bruckheimer said it had been "a thrill to work" with Pitt, but stopped short of confirming or denying his - or co-star Damson Idris's - participation in any sequel plans.
