Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 American action drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski and written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie from stories by Peter Craig and Justin Marks. The film is a sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun. Tom Cruise reprises his starring role as the naval aviator Maverick. It is based on the characters of the original film created by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. It also stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris and Val Kilmer, who reprises his role as Iceman. The story involves Maverick confronting his past while training a group of younger Top Gun graduates, including the son of his deceased best friend, for a dangerous mission.
"Top Gun 2" redirects here. For the video game, see Top Gun 2 (video game).Top Gun: Maverick
by
- Jerry Bruckheimer
- Tom Cruise
- Christopher McQuarrie
- David Ellison
Paramount Pictures
- April 28, 2022 (CinemaCon)
- May 27, 2022 (United States)
130 minutes[2]
United States
English
Development of a Top Gun sequel was announced in 2010 by Paramount Pictures. Tom Cruise, along with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott, were asked to return. Craig wrote a draft of the screenplay in 2012, but the project stalled when Scott died later that year.[6] Top Gun: Maverick was later dedicated to Scott's memory.[7] Production resumed in 2017, after Kosinski was hired to direct. Principal photography, which involved the use of IMAX-certified 6K full-frame cameras, took place from May 2018 to April 2019 in California, Washington and Maryland. It was initially scheduled to be released July 12, 2019, but it was delayed several times due to its complex action sequences and later the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, several streaming companies attempted to purchase the streaming rights to the film from Paramount, but all offers were declined on the orders of Cruise, who insisted that it be released exclusively in theaters.
Top Gun: Maverick premiered at CinemaCon on April 28, 2022, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on May 27, 2022. The film was acclaimed by critics, with many considering it superior to the first film.[8] It won Best Film from the National Board of Review and was also named one of the top-ten films of 2022 by the American Film Institute. Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for six awards at the 95th Academy Awards (including Best Picture), winning Best Sound, and received numerous other accolades. The film grossed $1.496 billion worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2022 and the highest-grossing of Cruise's career.
A sequel is in development.
Plot[edit]
More than 30 years after graduating from Top Gun,[a] United States Navy Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is a decorated test pilot whose insubordination has kept him from flag rank.[b] When Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain plans to cancel Maverick's hypersonic "Darkstar" scramjet program, Maverick manages to reach the final target speed, but the prototype is destroyed when he cannot resist pushing beyond Mach 10. Cain tells Maverick that he would be grounded if not for Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Maverick's friend and former Top Gun rival, now commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, who has Maverick assigned to the Top Gun school at NAS North Island.
The Navy has been ordered to destroy an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant before it becomes operational. The plant, located in an underground bunker at the end of a canyon, is defended by surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), GPS jammers, fifth-generation Su-57 fighters and F-14 Tomcats. Maverick devises a plan employing two pairs of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets armed with laser-guided bombs, but instead of participating in the strike, he is to train elite Top Gun graduates assembled by Air Boss Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson.
Maverick dogfights with his skeptical students, winning their respect, while cavalier Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin clashes with cautious Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw—son of Maverick's deceased best friend and RIO Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. Maverick reunites with former girlfriend Penny Benjamin, and reveals that he promised Rooster's dying mother that Rooster would not become a pilot. Rooster, unaware of this, resents Maverick for blocking his Naval Academy application and blames him for his father's death. Maverick confides in Iceman, who tells him, "It's time to let go", reassuring him that both the Navy and Rooster need Maverick.
Iceman soon dies from terminal cancer, and after an F/A-18F crashes during training, Cyclone removes Maverick as instructor. He relaxes the mission parameters, leaving them easier to execute but making escape much more difficult. Maverick makes an unauthorized flight through the course with the original parameters, proving that it can be done, and Cyclone reluctantly appoints him as team leader.
Maverick flies the lead F/A-18E, accompanied by a buddy-lasing F/A-18F[c] flown by Lieutenant Natasha "Phoenix" Trace and WSO Lieutenant Robert "Bob" Floyd. Rooster leads the second strike pair, which includes Lieutenant Reuben "Payback" Fitch and WSO Lieutenant Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia. The four jets launch from an aircraft carrier, and Tomahawk cruise missiles destroy the enemy air base. The teams destroy the plant, but the SAMs open fire during their escape. Rooster runs out of countermeasures, and Maverick sacrifices his plane to protect him. Believing Maverick dead, all jets are ordered back to the carrier, but Rooster disobeys and returns to find Maverick being pursued by an Mi-24 attack helicopter. Destroying the gunship, Rooster is shot down, and he and Maverick steal an F-14 and destroy two intercepting Su-57s. A third attacks, but Hangman unexpectedly arrives to shoot it down, and the planes return safely.
Later, Rooster helps Maverick work on his P-51 Mustang. Rooster looks at a photo of their mission's success, pinned alongside a photo of his late father and a young Maverick, as Penny and Maverick fly off in the P-51.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
In 1990, during the promotion of Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Tom Cruise dismissed the notion of a sequel to Top Gun (1986) as "irresponsible".[13] Paramount Pictures began development on the film in 2010 after making offers to Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott to create a sequel to Top Gun with Tom Cruise reprising his role. When asked about his idea for a new Top Gun film, Scott replied, "This world fascinated me, because it's so different from what it was originally. But I don't want to do a remake. I don't want to do a reinvention. I want to do a new movie."[14] It was reported that the film would focus on the end of the dogfighting era,[15] the role of drones in modern aerial warfare,[16] and would see Cruise's character, Maverick, fly an F/A-18E Super Hornet.[17] Following Scott's death in 2012, the sequel's future became uncertain, but producer Jerry Bruckheimer remained committed to the project, especially given interest expressed by Cruise and Kilmer.[18]
Cruise revealed in June 2017 that the sequel would be titled Top Gun: Maverick, noting that he did not want a number in the title.[19] He added that the film is "going to be a competition film, similar to the first one", but clarified it as "a progression for Maverick".[20][21] By July 2017, Joseph Kosinski was announced as the director, after previously collaborating with Cruise on Oblivion (2013).[22][23] Kosinski met with Cruise on the set of Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), providing a lookbook, a poster, and a title, Top Gun: Maverick, prior to his hiring. Cruise then contacted Jim Gianopulos and requested to make the film.[24]
On June 19, 2019, at CineEurope in Barcelona, attendees were able to watch for the first time some early footage of the film from a special Paramount presentation. During the presentation the President of International Theatrical Distribution Mark Viane and co-president of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution Mary Daily appeared in flight clothes, as a part of the promotion.[25] In 2019, China's Tencent invested 12.5% of the film but later pulled out of the project at the end of that year over concerns that the film's themes could anger the Chinese government.[26]
Writing[edit]
By mid-2010, Christopher McQuarrie received an offer to write the sequel's screenplay, which was rumored to have Cruise's character Maverick in a smaller role.[27] The following year, Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz were credited as screenwriters on the project.[28] The studio would later move onto Peter Craig to draft a new script under Scott's direction in March 2012.[29] However, the project was unexpectedly stalled due to Scott's suicide in August of that year.[30] In March 2014, Bruckheimer said the filmmakers were taking a new approach, which involved pilots being rendered obsolete by drones.[31]
In September 2014, the sequel was officially revived. Justin Marks entered negotiations to write the screenplay.[32] Marks said that the sequel to Top Gun was his "dream project" and that the original was "an iconic film in his memory" that inspired him to write screenplays.[33] He researched the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to gain insight into "how Top Gun would be represented in the current period".[33]
Marketing[edit]
The film's first teaser trailer premiered during a surprise appearance by Cruise at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con on July 18, 2019.[114][115] The first trailer received high praise from fans, with many lauding the return of the series and some comparing it to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.[116] The Hollywood Reporter wrote that some fans noticed that the flag of the Republic of China (the flag used by the government of the Republic of China based on the island of Taiwan) and the Flag of Japan were missing from the flight jacket of Cruise's character and accused Paramount of removing it to appease China-based co-financier Tencent Pictures.[117] However, the Republic of China and Japanese flags were later restored, as Tencent would end up pulling out of the production, leading to them being uncredited in the final film and, instead, the producers chose to not release the movie in China.[118][119] The second trailer was released in December 2019,[120] and a new Snapchat filter for the film was introduced by Paramount, to engage "young-generation audiences".[121]
In February 2020, toy manufacturer Matchbox (owned by Mattel) announced that it was releasing a series of Top Gun die-cast models and products, including the F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and the P-51 Mustang, as well as role play items. They were scheduled for public release on June 1, 2020, despite the delayed theatrical release.[122] In June 2020, plastic model manufacturer Revell released a series of 1/48 scale Top Gun plastic models, including an F-14A Tomcat and an F/A-18E Super Hornet based upon the aircraft in the movie. These are versions of previous Revell offerings with modified decals and markings.[123] In July 2020, Hasbro announced a Top Gun-themed Transformers toy, "Maverick", which was released later in the year.[124] Hasbro later re-released the toy as a Walmart exclusive to tie into the film's final release date.[125]
On August 26, 2021, the first 13 minutes of the film were previewed at CinemaCon along with a new trailer with Tom Cruise marking his presence virtually at the event.[126] In January 2022, CBS Sports released a new clip from the film, coinciding with the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals.[127] In February 2022, the final trailer of the film tied to Porsche was aired before Super Bowl LVI.[128] In April 2022, Project ACES, the developers of the Ace Combat series, announced the release of an aircraft collaboration DLC for Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown with Top Gun: Maverick, released on May 26, one day before the film's release.[129][130] A free expansion based on Top Gun Maverick was also released for Microsoft Flight Simulator on the same day, containing the F/A-18E/F Superhornet and fictional "Darkstar" planes as playable aircraft.[131] An interactive website was also launched on the same month.[132] On May 23, Cruise collaborated with The Late Late Show host James Corden for recreating a fighter sequence as a part of promotions.[133][134]
A three-week promotional tour was conducted in Mexico City, Tokyo, Cannes, London, San Diego and Los Angeles.[135] Event Cinemas announced Top Gun: Maverick Collector Combo, featuring a medium large salt-popcorn with refreshments in a collector cup, being marketed with stills featuring Cruise.[136] Other marketing deals were arranged with Applebee's restaurant chains[137] and Vudu.[138]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Top Gun: Maverick grossed $718.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $777 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.496 billion.[4][5] The film became the highest-grossing film of Cruise's career on June 17, 2022, after crossing $800 million worldwide.[165] On June 26, the film crossed $1 billion, becoming the second film to do so during the pandemic era.[166][167] It is the second-highest-grossing film released in 2022 (behind Avatar: The Way of Water).[168] Sonny Bunch, writing for The Washington Post, argued that the film's financial success along with that of Spider-Man: No Way Home demonstrates that securing a theatrical release in China is not mandatory for a Hollywood film to be profitable.[119] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $391.1 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it second on their list of 2022's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[1]
In the United States and Canada, Top Gun: Maverick was the highest-grossing film released in 2022.[4][169] It grossed $126.7 million in its opening three-day weekend and $160.5 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, finishing first at the box office and nearly doubling Cruise's previous career-best. The film also had the largest Memorial Day four-day opening weekend.[170] In its second weekend, it grossed $90 million; the 29% drop was the smallest-ever for a film that had an opening of over $100 million, surpassing Shrek 2 (33% drop in its second weekend from a $108 million debut in May 2004).[171] The film was dethroned by newcomer Jurassic World Dominion in its third weekend, though still grossed $51.9 million.[172] The film remained in the top five at the box office throughout its first ten weeks of release.[173] The film finally dropped out of the top five at the box office in its 11th weekend, finishing sixth with $7 million.[174] In its 12th weekend the film was re-released in over 400 theaters and made $7.1 million, returning to second place.[175][176] In its 15th weekend, the film made $6 million (and a total of $7.9 million over the four-day Labor Day frame), returning to the top of the box office.[177] Box office analysts attributed the film's longevity at the box office to positive critical reviews and word of mouth.[178][179]
Outside the US and Canada, the film grossed $124 million from 62 markets in its opening weekend. It was Cruise's biggest opening ever in 32 of those markets and Paramount's best opening for a live-action film in 18 of them. The largest markets in its opening weekend were the United Kingdom ($19.4 million), France ($11.7 million), Australia ($10.7 million), Japan ($9.7 million), and Germany ($6.5 million). The film had the best debut of Cruise's career in the Middle East ($6.3 million), Brazil ($5.3 million), the Netherlands ($2.4 million), Sweden ($2.2 million), Belgium ($1.7 million), New Zealand ($1.4 million), Poland ($1.2 million), Argentina ($1.2 million), Finland ($1.1 million), and Portugal ($770,000). IMAX accounted for $10.4 million of its opening weekend outside the US and Canada.[180] The following weekend, it made $85.8 million, a mere 16% drop that included $18.5 million from IMAX screenings.[181] As of September 18, 2022, the top markets are the United Kingdom ($102 million), Japan ($93.6 million), South Korea ($67.2 million), Australia ($64.3 million), and France ($58.2 million).[182]
Lawsuit[edit]
In June 2022, the family of Israeli author Ehud Yonay, who wrote the California article "Top Guns" in May 1983 that inspired the first film, sued Paramount for copyright infringement over the release of Top Gun: Maverick and sought damages as well as an injunction against the film's distribution. Jerry Bruckheimer produced the original film, whose screenplay was written by Jim Cash (died 2000) and Jack Epps Jr.; all three men participated in the sequel.[209] According to the lawsuit, Paramount had obtained exclusive film rights to Yonay's article but ignored the 35-year copyright law, wherein the rights reverted to Yonay's widow Shosh and son Yuval in January 2020 after the writer's death in 2012.[210]
The lawsuit claimed that Maverick contains elements similar to the original article and that Paramount continued with the filming, even after receiving notice of the copyright's termination. The film distributor considered most of the sequel to have been complete before then and denied that Maverick was derived from Yonay's article.[211][212] In April 2024 the suit was dismissed.[213][214]
Future[edit]
In May 2022, Teller revealed that he had been pitching a sequel, which would be tentatively titled Top Gun: Rooster and centered on his character, to Paramount Pictures.[215] By July of the same year, he stated that he has been having ongoing discussions with Cruise regarding a sequel.[216] In January 2024, it was reported that a sequel is in development.[217][218]