Here’s Everything We Know About The New Top Gun 2
Harrison Ford added a much needed element of credibility to the latest Star Wars film by reprising his role as Han Solo, and it seems Hollywood is taking note. After much speculation, Jerry Bruckheimer has just confirmed that Tom Cruise will be a part of the much talked about ‘Top Gun’ sequel and Val Kilmer will reprise the role of ‘Iceman’.
In celebration of the fact that this thing is ACTUALLY happening – we’ve broken down everything we know about Top Gun 2, from the storyline, release date and how Maverick and Iceman will claim the sky as their own once more. So, let’s get started…
It’s Taken A Long Time To Make This Happen
People have been pushing for this movie for a long time. In fact, it’s been in the pipeline for about five years now.
Up until his death in 2012, original producer Tony Scott was trying to make this his next directorial project. Sadly, everything was put on hold shortly after his passing and the project lost its momentum. Some people actually doubted it would progress from there. Following a slow process, there was relief for fans as Justin Marks put pen to paper and signed on as the script writer in mid-2014.
Top Gun 2 was not only going to happen – but a storyline was underway – HORRAHH!
The Script Is Further Developed Than People Think
Despite working on the latest Jungle Book movie, Marks has had a year and a half to think about how the new story will play out. Bruckheimer is publicly claiming that it’s only getting started now, but we have sources that suggest that this is just an attempt to calm down your expectations. I mean, pre-production hasn’t officially been announced, so they don’t want to count their chickens before they hatch.
With Cruise and Iceman signed on and news about the storyline already surfacing (see below) – you can bet that solid headway in to the Top Gun 2 script has been made. Some sources believe it will be finalised later this year with a formal announcement that the film will start locking in dates for production in early 2017. We’ll wait for cameras to actually start rolling before we believe it for sure – but we sense things are moving quicker than what is being fed out of the studio.
Top Gun 2 Release Date
At this rate, our guess is that Top Gun will be prime for cinemas in either the US Summer (June/July) or, more likely Christmas season of 2018. That means it won’t have to worry about competing with Star Wars at the box office which is set to release Episode VIII in December 2017 and Episode IX in December 19.
Tom Cruise (Maverick) & Val Kilmer (Iceman) Are Signed On For Top Gun 2
It seems the news we had all hoped for has been confirmed.
Bruckheimer insists they couldn’t possibly make a follow-up to the 1986 classic if the now 53-year-old Cruise wasn’t on board to pick up his role as Lieutenant Pete ‘Maverick‘ Mitchell . Following speculation and a sneaky tweet in January, Jerry was asked this morning about Cruise’s involvement by’ Entertainment Tonight’ where he responded,
‘Yeah, of course. You don’t make ‘Top Gun’ without Tom Cruise!”
According to sources, when the project was first being revived, Cruise was planning to return for a small role. Since then, the project has ballooned and it’s likely he will feature as a lead.
Following their new friendship, Maverick and Iceman will hit the sky together in Top Gun 2 and if they’re bro hug in Top Gun 1 is anything to go by – it’ll be beautiful. But who will step down as a wingman is anyone’s guess. As of recently, IMDB has both stars penciled in to their roles, and according to multiple sources the deals are signed and the roles worked in to the script. This thing is happening!
The Story Line: The Times They Are A Changin’
We know that the story will see the lads battling terrorism, drones and a whole heap of new modern military technology.
In various interviews with Bruckheimer and scriptwriter Justin Marks, comments have been made about the original movie serving as a time capsule of the military in a point of time. Instead of trying to recreate that, the new Top Gun film will aim to look at todays volatile political climate, terrorism and the vast improvements in modern technology.
During a group interview at the press day for Terminator Genisys in Berlin, Skydance CEO David Ellison and CCO Dana Goldberg answered a few questions about the storyline where Ellison said,
“It’s really [about] exploring the ‘end of an era’ of dogfighting and fighter pilots and what that culture is today,”
It’s our safe guess that Maverick and Iceman will be shunned to the side because of their age, as the US military opt for mostly unmanned aircraft that basically fly themselves. In the end, the oldies will break the rule book, go rogue and despite all the odds against them, will use old-school dogfighting to save the day and win the respect of everyone. Hot tip: the terrorists lose. Seriously though… this thing writes itself.
We’ll be keeping you posted with all Top Gun 2 news as it comes our way – follow our updates here.