Brad Pitt's New Formula One Movie Now Has a Name,and That Name is Apex

Top Gun: Maverick's Joseph Kosinki will be directing Pitt's latest film about a retired racer who helps a newcomer find his way on the track.

Award-winning actor Brad Pitt has been there and nearly done it all throughout his career, and while he's moreso behind the camera these days, his latest project with Apple TV+ will have him getting behind the wheel of a Formula One race car, literally. While the sports film had been heard about through the grapevine, there was no mention yet of a name for it. Well now, per a report from Collider, we now know that it'll be called Apex, with Pitt in the lead role of a retired race driver.

The announcement of Apex came in a rather ironic fashion, with a surprise tweet from ESPN's F1 Twitter handle that has apparently since been deleted. However, from Collider's report we know that it read:

“Brad Pitt has his own garage at Silverstone this weekend. Filming for his new F1 movie 'Apex' will take place on-site for the first time at the British Grand Prix.”

Alongside that, Pitt's character was revealed to be named Sonny Hayes, and a photo of a "younger" version of him in a driver's suit was seen in the background. Otherwise, we know that Pitt indeed has his own garage at the renowned Silverstone track this coming weekend, right in the middle of the British Grand Prix. The garage is fashioned exactly like that of a decorated F1 driver, and Formula One's Twitter handle revealed the actual race car that Pitt will be driving. It will apparently be modified by Mercedes into an F2 model, while still retaining the look of an F1 car. The scenes being shot on the track will literally be done in between races throughout the Grand Prix's tourney, with no interference whatsoever to the event itself. Nonetheless, it's clear that Pitt's appearance has already garnered plenty of attention from fans on-site. As for the premise of Apex, there aren't too many details yet, but the film will be about a retired Formula One driver, played by Pitt, who comes back to the track to mentor a young and upcoming driver.

As for the premise of Apex, there aren't too many details yet, but the film will be about a retired Formula One driver, played by Pitt, who comes back to the track to mentor a young and upcoming driver. That role is going to Damson Idris, who was last seen co-starring with Anthony Mackie in Outside the Wire (2021), and in Prime's visceral horror drama series Swarm (2022). Other stars in Apex so far will include Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), actual F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, and Game of Thrones alum Tobias Menzies. Joseph Kosinski and Ehren Kruger, who are most recently known for their incredible work on Tom Cruise's billion-dollar wonder Top Gun: Maverick, are reuniting as director and writer respectively for this new project. Jerry Bruckheimer will be co-producing with them.

Director Kosinski Will Focus on Practical Effects

Kosinski is absolutely focused on bringing Apex to life via practical effects and stunts, which was arguably the true catalyst of Top Gun: Maverick's success, and undoubtedly influenced by Tom Cruise's unflinching devotion to that same craft he brings into every installment of his Mission: Impossible franchise. Kosinski previously revealed in an interview with The Wrap how he found it ironic that younger generations have become so accustomed to CGI from the get-go when watching films, that they see its technological precursor as new and "innovative".

"It's almost funny to me to see people who are so enamored with real photography. Younger people haven't seen a lot of it. They're so used to CGI (computer-generated images) being a tool of big movies that when you shoot something for real, it feels innovative...That's exactly the approach for "Formula One"... to shoot at the real races and real cars and capture it. It's going to be a huge challenge but an exciting one for me."

There's little doubt that Kosinski will capture some incredible footage from this weekend's production at Silverstone, and bring a similar dose of practical magic to the film that will draw fans of various demographics.