Tom Cruise to Suit-up for Top Gun Sequel

Feeling the need for speed? You won’t have to wait too much longer, the much anticipated, on again, off again sequel to Jerry Bruckheimer’s and Don Simpson’s mega-hit, Top Gun, is in the offing, once more.

This time there will be a focus on drones, says producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Speaking to the Huffington Post on Thursday, the legendary filmmaker said that a follow-up to the iconic action movie, starring Tom Cruise, has been in the works for 30 years but finally he is getting ‘closer’ to making it.

The original film, released in 1986 and inspired by inspired by the article “Top Guns” written by Ehud Yonay for California magazine, centred around competitiveness of a class of US Navy fighter pilots as they vied to become ‘Top Gun’ or first in their class with Tom Cruise playing the lead role of cocky rebel Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Complete with a signature late 80s soundtrack, it not only became a phenomenal hit but also became a cult classic since.

Bruckheimer is planning on giving Top Gun a contemporary update, saying, “The concept is, basically, are the pilots obsolete because of drones? Cruise is going to show them that they’re not obsolete. They’re here to stay.”

He added that he hoped Cruise would be reprising his role as the daredevil fighter pilot Maverick.
“It’s just getting to the starting place. Fortunately for Tom, he’s very busy, so you have to find a slot he can fit into and get a budget that [studio] Paramount feels they can make the picture.”

The film’s original director Tony Scott died in 2012 and helped to conceive the plot for Top Gun but as of yet no one has been named to direct the new film.
He said the sequel was moving closer to reality despite a 28-year gap since the late Tony Scott’s original movie hit cinemas.

“We’ve been trying to get that movie made for 30 years, and I think we’re getting closer and closer,” said Bruckheimer. “Don [Simpson, fellow producer] and I tried to develop something; we didn’t succeed. Cruise took over, and he tried to develop something, and he didn’t succeed. Now we’re back at it.”

Cruise signaled on Sunday at the Empire film awards that a Top Gun sequel is in active development. The follow-up had looked unlikely to see the light of day after Scott’s death in August 2012.

Scott said in 2010 that his proposed sequel would centre on drones, though Cruise was at that point expected to take only a supporting role. The current incarnation would likely see Cruise at least as second lead to a younger protégé.

“These computer geeks, these kids play war games in a trailer in Fallon, Nevada, and if we ever went to war or were in the Middle East or the far east or wherever it is, these guys can actually fly drones,” said the film-maker. “They are unmanned aircraft. They operate them and then they party all night.”

At TGC we wonder: Maverick would never do that, would he? Certainly not the serious guy we see at the end of the film. We’re looking forward to see just how he’s changed or remained the same. For now, we’ll paraphrase Iceman’s remark at the end of the film:

Maverick, you can be our wing-man, any time.

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