Top Gun’s exhilarating mix of state-of-the-art fighter planes, rock music, and young and rowdy Navy pilots turned the movie into an instant blockbuster. It also launched the career of a hitherto relatively unknown Tom Cruise to international stardom, a status that the rather diminutive actor enjoys to this day. Even the US Navy, which had helped finance the movie -and enjoyed tight control over its script in exchange for a favorable rate to lease its aircraft and other assets to the filmmakers- benefited from Top Gun’s massive success. The Navy set up recruitment booths outside the theaters where the movie was being shown, to try and steer moviegoer towards a career in naval aviation.
All that was 21 years ago, believe it or not. Talks of a sequel surfaced every now and again, but the untimely death of Tony Scott appeared to shelve the project for good.
Nevertheless, the Hollywood machine has worked its magic, and the much-expected sequel to Top Gun is finally a go.
It isn’t unclear when filming will start, or who will star in it, apart from the leading man himself, who will reprise the role of talented but troubled F-14 pilot Pete Mitchell, callsign Maverick.
And in Cruise’s very own moniker lies the title of the sequel.
Tom Cruise had said that he ‘did not want a number’ accompanying the movie’s title, so the sequel to the 1986 classic will be called ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’
Little is known about the plot, or indeed who the director will be. Top Gun: Maverick will reportedly have a similar look and feel to the original, but it’s all guesswork at the moment.
Stay tuned for updates.