Just yesterday, while out doing promotion in Australia for The Mummy, Tom Cruise commented to the press that Top Gun 2 was finally getting made. A few outlets shrugged it off as him just keeping the conversation going. Well, based on Variety‘s report today, Cruise is dead serious. According to them, the actor/producer and Paramount are close to tapping Tron: Legacy‘s Joseph Kosinski to direct the long-awaited sequel.
A Top Gun sequel has been kicking around for ages, but finally seemed to gain some traction about five or six years ago. Original director Tony Scott was gung-ho to finally make it happen and managed to infect Cruise with his enthusiasm for the follow-up. The actor’s go-to screenwriter, Christopher McQuarrie, even came on board to pen the latest version of the script, which is said to focus on how drones continue to replace manned military aircraft.
After Scott’s tragic suicide, however, the project returned to limbo. There have been a few rumblings since, usually from Cruise himself, but this marks the first real movement on the film since Tony Scott passed away. That it comes with a director attached who already has a working relationship with the actor/producer comes as no surprise. Cruise has made a habit over the past few years of regularly working with the same filmmakers, chiefly the aforementioned Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher, M:I – Rogue Nation) and Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, American Made).
Joseph Kosinski previously directed Cruise in 2013’s Oblivion. The two have since been developing a racing project, Go Like Hell, which is still waiting in the wings. Cruise is currently shooting Mission: Impossible 6 under the helm of McQuarrie and Kosinski is overseeing post-production on his latest effort, the disaster picture Granite Mountain. If the momentum behind Top Gun 2 continues to build, look for it to be the next film to go into production for both parties, with a start date sometime early next year. Basically, if all goes well, we could be watching Top Gun 2 on the big screen come Summer 2019.
Now the question is whether or not any other key figures from the original will be involved? Should we expect the return of Val Kilmer or Kelly McGillis? Perhaps even some supporting players like Meg Ryan, Tom Skerritt, and/or Michael Ironside? Will we get a new Kenny Loggins theme? All these questions and more lie waiting answers as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell once again heads into the danger zone.
