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Never been much of a Plane Guy — I leave that to Sir Charlie Hall, master of flight simulators. But Top Gun: Maverick might just leave my head permanently in the clouds. A new trailer teases the long-awaited sequel’s ground drama, and more importantly, the high-speed aerial stunts star Tom Cruise (The Mummy) has cooked up for the film, which hits theaters this spring after many delays.
Top Gun: Maverick finds Cruise’s character Pete “Maverick” Mitchell graduating from rebel test pilot to instructor, leading a team of new TOPGUN hot shots in what a Paramount synopsis calls “a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.” The new squad includes Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), aka “Rooster,” the son of Goose, who was killed during a training exercise in the original 1986 film. Maverick confronting his past, deepest fears, new enemies, yadda yadda, PLANES.
“Everything you see in this film is real,” Cruise said way back at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, where he premiered the first footage from the film. “We’re working with the Navy. I wanted to give you an experience of being inside that aircraft.”
Mission potentially accomplished. Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion, Tron: Legacy) seemed to have a found a modern way to innovate on Tony Scott’s original Top Gun action by mounting cameras inside real planes and soaring them in every which way. Even on the small screen, it looks quite grand. Am I a Plane Guy now? I might be a Plane Guy. Charlie, boot up Flight Simulator.
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The Top Gun: Maverick Cast Had to Pass Tom Cruise
No one loves a stunt more than Tom Cruise. Other actors might throw themselves around, take a bruise here and there, sure, but Cruise has made an art form out of doing tricks. His co-stars have a nickname for the process: “Tom Cruise Boot Camp.” On the set of Top Gun: Maverick, which is finally (!) due out in theaters this May 27, the cast got a taste of what it’s like to prepare for shooting a movie with the action star–and it doesn’t sound easy.
Trying to push the film’s realism to the maximum, Cruise wanted everyone to train alongside him. With shoots happening inside real Boeing F/A-18 Superhornet fighter jets, that required a bit of professional training, but according to director Joe Kosinski, Cruise thought that some intensive training might help bond the cast as well. Granted, that intensive training also involved experiencing G-forces so strong that it knocks out some pilots. Classic movie prep stuff, for people who have an insatiable need for speed.
Co-star Miles Teller said it was unlike any previous training he had done because, you know, there’s three months of flight school to go through.
We were all mini Toms making this movie. He put us through… I’ll just call it a ‘Tom Cruise boot camp’. We were getting in killer shape. And also for the stunts and stuff that Tom does in movies, it’s usually a very specific type of training. You’re not just going into the gym and lifting some weights. We did flight training for three months before we started filming… We got put through the wringer.
The move is an upgrade from the first film, which Cruise has said didn’t quite prepare the cast for what they needed to really sell those in-the-sky scenes. Almost all the combat shots filmed in the clouds were unusable the first time around. This time though? As realistic as possible. May whomever you pray to be watching over the cast of Top Gun: Maverick.
Iceman Believes Maverick Still Has What It Takes in ‘Top Gun’ Sequel
As we enter the final countdown before the theatrical launch of “Top Gun: Maverick” on May 27, 2022, Paramount Pictures has finally released a trailer that offers some hints about the movie’s actual story.
Previously, we’ve seen some spectacular air action sequences and flashes of both familiar and new faces. Now it’s time to get down to business. Check out what’s likely to be the final trailer for “Top Gun: Maverick” below.
We learn quite a few things from the trailer. Goose’s son, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), has a swagger that’s closer to a young Maverick than it is to his dad — and also quite the impressive 1970s porn stache. “Hangman” (Glen Powell) still hasn’t revealed his civilian name to us, but he seems to be the modern-day Iceman in this crew.
Phoenix (Monica Barbaro) speaks for the arrogant young team when she declares that, “We’re the best there is,” so “Who the hell are they going to get to teach us?” If you’ve been paying attention for the past four decades, you already know the answer to that question.
That doesn’t mean that commanding officer “Cyclone” (Jon Hamm) is happy that Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell has been sent to work with a new generation of aviators. “Let me be perfectly blunt. You were not my first choice,” says Cyclone. “You’re here at the request of Admiral Kazansky, aka ‘Iceman.’ He seems to think you have something left to offer the Navy. What that is, I can’t imagine.”
Maverick seems amused by the “aka ‘Iceman'” bit, because he smirks at Cyclone and announces, “With all due respect, sir, I’m not a teacher. I just want to manage expectations.” We next see Maverick announce himself to his charges in the most obnoxious way possible and make the creaky (but truly necessary) “this is your captain speaking” joke.
There’s some mysterious military conflict that arises, and the team has to go into combat. Since this is a movie, you can bet that Maverick will be tagging along. Where will they be engaged? Will it be Taiwan, Ukraine, the U.S. Canadian border? The trailer’s not giving away that part of the plot, but at least we know for sure that we’ll get the kind of international crisis that requires Navy aviators to step up and find a solution.
Of course, Rooster blames Maverick for his dad’s demise. “My dad believed in you. I’m not going to make the same mistake,” the young aviator barks at the old man. Will the two flyers work it out or at least arrive at some level of grudging respect? Or will someone have to go down in flames? So many questions, so many weeks to wait for an answer.
The need for speed is back. Paramount Pictures released a new official trailer for Top Gun: Maverick today.
The official synopsis: After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.” Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.
