Talks about “Top Gun 2” were merely considered rumors before the filming of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” began last year.
Apparently, when everyone else saw the trailer of “Mission: Impossible 5” showing Tom Cruise, playing special field operations agent Ethan Hunt of the IMF, holding on to the side of the plane unharnessed, it somehow connected the dots and lighted the bright idea.
Based on history, a plane plus Tom Cruise equals “Top Gun,” so that’s where all the idea and rumors of “Top Gun 2” began to circulate, and this time it was louder than ever.
So when it was picked up and Tom Cruise was asked about it in a subsequent interview, it surely became a novel and scintillating thought on the mind of the 53-year-old actor.
He hinted that he is up for doing a sequel to the 1986 blockbuster, after all, this is the era of the sequels of movie classics even if the past movies happened more than 10, 20, or 30 years ago.
But Tom Cruise only wants to do the movie if he will be flying a real fighter plane again, preferably an F-14 again or a new version of the plane that is. He was quoted as saying that he would like to fly those jets again, but it should be practical because he does not want any kind of computer-generated imageries or CGIs while filming on the jets.
Back in “Top Gun,” Tom Cruise as Maverick flew the F14-A Tomcat fighter jet and those planes are now way past its prime so it would be a challenge for the producers and directors of “Top Gun 2” how they intend to do it, without really using CGI.
Tom Cruise also recalled that when he did “Top Gun,” he had three flights in the F-14 which was clearly stipulated in his contract. That stipulation was honored because they did shots of him on the fighter jet plane without CGI at all, which is not even an option back in 1986, notes Cinema Blend.
The age factor may come in
However, since the sequel will come three decades later, Tom Cruise may have a problem identifying with the Maverick character he played in “Top Gun.”
While real jet fighter planes may be involved in “Top Gun 2,” he certainly cannot be considered as fighter pilot for it because of his age and also because the Air Force has a clear policy on that.
Unless, the producers decide to turn it into a “Mission: Impossible” kind of storyline, “Top Gun 2” may have difficulty taking off story-wise if Maverick would still be flying an F-14, notes the Inquisitr.
An option for Tom Cruise is to become a flight instructor to budding pilots like his Maverick and Val Kilmer’s Iceman characters were in “Top Gun.” On the other hand, “Top Gun 2” would surely lose its luster and appeal if Tom Cruise would only have a cameo appearance in it because everyone knows that the “Top Gun” franchise is Tom Cruise as much as “Rambo” is Sylvester Stallone.
According to rumors however, the plan is to modernize “Top Gun 2” a bit and make it relevant in today’s times, which is the challenging part because fighter jets operated by actual pilots are becoming a novel idea these days because even warfare is now moving towards automation.
Too long on the drawing board
The “Top Gun” sequel has been planned as early as 2010 when original director Tony Scott broached the idea back then. He mentioned then that the sequel would involve Tom Cruise playing Maverick again, but the story would be focused on the kids of today’s Air Force operating drones from darkened rooms.
However, drone warfare is merely like playing video games in the comfort of one’s living room and does not have cinematic appeal at all.
As you mentioned, it might be difficult for Tom Cruise to fly in current front-line fighters, in the way that he flew in the F-14, for the original Top Gun. The F-35 is operational in some respects, but is still in development, in others. To the best of my knowledge, the F-35, much like the F-22, will, most likely, not be produced in a two-seat version … only single seat. An F-22 pilot’s first solo flight in an F-22 is literally his first flight in the F-22. All flight training leading up to that first flight is accomplished using simulators. So, in order for Tom Cruise to be able to fly the F-35, any age restrictions, as you mentioned, would need to be waived. The F-35 is being produced in three variants for joint service in the USAF, the U.S. Navy, and the United States Marine Corp. Provided that one of these three services would be willing to do so, and with all necessary approvals from the Department of Defense, Tom would need to go through the full flight-training process, and pass all physicals, that any other flight-training candidate would be required to pass. I think he could handle it. I believe he is a skilled pilot, and has significant experience in other high-performance aircraft. An alternative would be for him to fly in F-18 Hornets, in the same way that he did in the F-14, for the original movie, as many of the F-18s that are currently in service, are two-seat versions. Other than these two options, CGI might be the only viable solution for making much of the aerial footage, at least for those that would involve Tom Cruise, himself, as part of the scene.