Back in 1986, the US fighter jets have been involved in some thrilling airborne dogfights with an enemy. But today, everything is laser-guided bombing from a position of total air supremacy.
It can also be recalled that the Cold War plot during “Top Gun” was still very much an in-thing back then, but nowadays the issue is almost unrecognizable among many people in the world.
The sequel also did not take off because Scott died in 2012, although original producer Jerry Bruckheimer has not given up on the project and the idea for “Top Gun 2.”
But there are reports sometime in August saying that Justin Mark has written a new screenplay possibly for “Top Gun 2” involving the end of the era of dogfighting and fighter pilots and what culture is today. Mark is the writer of “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.”
One thing is clear to Tom Cruise and the producers at this point – “Top Gun” has a sense of humor and it would be okay to see Cruise as Maverick battling to make sense of the kids of today and their newfangled technology.
There can be a lot of storylines for “Top Gun 2” and everything can really be made into an action-packed movie the way Tom Cruise and his fans would really want it to be.
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.