The 80s were such a magical time to be alive. Not only was it a time when MTV began airing actual music videos, but it was also considered the best decade for movies as a number of hit films such as George Miller‘s “Mad Max” and Stephen Spielberg‘s “E.T.” were born.
And now, according to Collider, Skydance Productions CEO David Ellison confirmed during a “Terminator Genisys” press-day interview in Berlin that a sequel to 1986’s “Top Gun” is finally in the works. Ellison said that the script is currently being written and that Tom Cruise may once again play Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, the leading role of the movie.
Directed by Tony Scott, “Top Gun” is an American action drama film that was inspired by the article “Top Guns” written by Ehud Yonay for California magazine. It centres on Cruise’s Maverick, a young Naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Along with his pal Goose (played by Anthony Edwards), he gets the chance to train at the Navy’s prestigious Fighter Weapons School at Miramar in San Diego, also known as “Top Gun”. There Maverick fights the attitudes of the other pilots and an old story of his father’s death in combat that killed others due to his father’s error.
The film was a box office success as the 1986 action flick, which was on a shoestring budget of $15,000,000, grossed $353,816,701 worldwide. Due to its tremendous success, Paramount Pictures has been meaning to develop a sequel, with Cruise returning to star.
A sequel is further proven to be in the works when producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed at the 2013 “Produced By” conference that they have been trying to make the 2nd “Top Gun” film for the past 3 decades.
Despite Scott’s death in August 2012, he said:
We still want to do it with Tom (Cruise) and Paramount are still interested in making it. What Tom tells me is that no matter where he goes in the world, people refer to him as Maverick. It’s something he is excited about so as long as he keeps his enthusiasm hopefully we’ll get it made.
Since then, a couple of rumours surfaced online, with one of them suggesting that Cruise will only appear in a cameo role. Fortunately, Ellison refuted the online rumours by revealing that the sequel is going to be “Maverick playing Maverick”, suggesting that Cruise may reprise his role.
He said:
Justin Marks is writing the screenplay right now. He has a phenomenal take to really update that world for what fighter pilots in the Navy has turned into today. There is an amazing role for Maverick in the movie and there is no Top Gun without Maverick, and it is going to be Maverick playing Maverick.
As the original film took place 30 years ago, Ellison also explained to Collider that the sequel will emphasise on “drone technology and 5th generation fighters”.
He said:
When you look at the world of dogfighting, what’s interesting about it is that it’s not a world that exists to the same degree when the original movie came out. This world has not been explored. It is very much a world we live in today where it’s drone technology and fifth generation fighters are really what the United States Navy is calling the last man-made fighter that we’re actually going to produce so it’s really exploring the end of an era of dogfighting and fighter pilots and what that culture is today are all fun things that we’re gonna get to dive into in this movie.
Well, we are more than ready for some cool plane stuff, especially when the sequel is slated to arrive in theatres in IMAX and 3D.
But if you really need to why this movie is considered iconic, allow us to tide you over with Cruise’s charm in the following clip:
So, is this a “Yay!” or “Nay” for you? Who else do you think should join the sequel? Sound off in the comments section below.
Source: Collider / Image source: Comic Book Resources
