JUNE 2022:
THE JOURNEY TO A SEQUEL, NOT AT MACH SPEED..
Top Gun fans like myself, had all but given up hope that we would ever again get to see Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell “buzz the tower“. But in 2010, Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer who produces for Paramount Pictures announced that Top Gun was finally getting a sequel and that it would be a follow-up to the original and would reunite Cruise, Val Kilmer and director Tony Scott. Then tragedy struck on August 19, 2012. Tony Scott, after privately battling Cancer decided to take his own life and died by suicide jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in the San Pedro port district of Los Angeles. Plans for a sequel were put on hold while Paramount, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tom Cruise figured out how they would move forward without him. Tom Cruise had always insisted he would only do a sequel if the right story was told, and Scott returned to direct, along with Val Kilmer to co-star. It seemed the film was never going to be made with Scott no longer alive to direct. The studio would need time to decide what was best after his passing and if they could find a director who could continue the Top Gun story. That would end up being Joseph Kosinski, who worked with Cruise on the film Oblivion. Just when they had found a new director and were ready to finally begin production, another tragedy would occur. It was starting to seem as if the world was determined to get in the way of fans having their sequel.
Iceman’s flight grounded..
Val Kilmer who was returning as Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky was diagnosed with an aggressive Throat Cancer in 2014. He underwent a Tracheotomy in 2014 that forever altered the iconic actor’s ability to speak. He ultimately lost his voice and retired from acting. Fans now thought, a sequel would never be made. Speculation would go on for a few years before Kilmer publicly acknowledged his Throat Cancer diagnosis along with confirming the Tracheotomy that took his voice in 2017. Paramount and Tom Cruise had finally announced they found a new director to tell Maverick’s story with Kosinski, but fans feared Kilmer would not return due to this development. But in 2018, Kilmer broke the news that he would be returning for the Top Gun Sequel. Fans worried how this could be done with no voice and worried he would end up not filming. But that was never going to happen.
Jerry Bruckheimer, Producer for the sequel Top Gun: Maverick, who was also the Producer of 1986’s Top Gun stated:
“We have to have Val; we have to have him back. We have to have him in the film. And he was the driving force. We all wanted him, but Tom was adamant that if he’s going to make another ‘Top Gun’, Val had to be in it.”
– Jerry Bruckheimer
AN EMOTIONAL FLIGHT PLAN…
He continued by saying that Kilmer is a fine actor, and the first movie was such a good time to produce, that it was a great reason to get the old gang back together. Which further cements the thoughts of fans that if you’re going to go back to Top Gun, you’re going to have to do the replicate original and then some. Bruckheimer alluded to the long journey getting the sequel and that finally coming together again was a very emotional experience for everyone involved.
A Soaring Miracle…
And making the film 36 years later had its advantages. Technology has made amazing advancements since the first Top Gun roared into theaters. And this allowed Bruckheimer and Cruise to ensure nothing would keep Kilmer from appearing in its sequel. They would handle his no longer being able to speak. Fans be not worried; you will still love every minute of the scene with ‘Iceman‘ and ‘Maverick‘. I won’t say much so as not to spoil the experience I had when first seeing it. I will tell you this, fans will be able to hear his voice again, due to the British Artificial Intelligence firm Sonantic having recreated it using AI and audio he filmed from the first Top Gun. Val Kilmer filmed the movie, and you’ll love him in it, and the long awaited payoff is worth it. Jack Kilmer said about his father’s experience filming this time around:
“They honor the legacy of Iceman, and he was stocked by it.”
– Jack Kilmer
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
A Mach Speed Sequel to Beat a Classic Flight Pattern..
It wouldn’t have seemed right to not include Kilmer and Jerry Bruckheimer knew it wouldn’t stand up to the original if he wasn’t involved. In 1986, Top Gun was the first full-blown collaboration between Hollywood and the US Navy. The model developed by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson around the production of Top Gun launched a new trend of military movies in the nineties and onward. It had to be bigger and better to go up against a cult classic with one of the larger fanbases that existed prior to social media groups and online communities. The generation of fans who love this movie have waited a long time and if it wasn’t next to perfect, they would annihilate any bad attempt. Bruckheimer and Cruise were not willing to tarnish a legacy film, especially if Tony Scott wouldn’t have approved. They had to make the sequel he intended to make had he lived.
A Sound 80’s Masterpiece…
The original Top Gun was inspired by an article penned by Ehud Yonay, which told the story of thrill chasing top-tier best in their field pilots at the Naval Air Station Miramar training facility near San Diego. Bruckheimer and Simpson had a ton of clout with Paramount when they announced Top Gun in 1983. They had just finished producing Flashdance and Beverly Hills Cop for the studio and learned from that success to control the rights to the soundtrack for the film and Bruckheimer and Simpson cut a deal with Columbia Records for control of Top Gun’s soundtrack that spent several weeks at Number One in the summer of 1986 and gave us hits from Kenny Loggins with “Danger Zone”, which makes it back into the 2022 sequel in an awesome ode to the original opening credits of the 1986 film. The soundtrack also included the hit ballad “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin; Lady Gaga’s new ballad single “Hold My Hand” for Top Gun: Maverick was inspired by the song. We also got the classic Top Gun theme as a hit off the soundtrack. Its one of those scores that you know what it is two seconds into someone playing it. And get ready for that cue up again. You will of course be hearing the original theme in the new sequel.
You can watch the Official Music Video for Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” here:
You can watch the Official Music Video for Berlin‘s “Take my Breath Away” here:
You can watch the Official Music Video for the Top Gun Theme here:
You can watch the Official Music Video for Lady Gaga‘s “Hold My Hand” here:
Strap in and Enjoy the G Force Fun..
The original Top Gun is a film studies class in movie making of the 80’s era. Right down to the soundtrack. It is easily recognizable as a staple film of the era. Eighties movies had their own character traits. While some may say the film is dated and negative tropes are celebrated then that are now not, I say this. Let us have this please. Leave your cancel culture and wokeness at the door on this one. Top Gun and its sequel Top Gun: Maverick weren’t made to declare a statement on the way of things. It was made for entertainment at the movies. We have forgotten that seeing a movie is supposed to be an experience. Some movies are made just to give you that fun thrill factor for a couple of hours in your seat. Movies are meant to escape reality and give you a great time.
You can watch the Official Music Video for Kenny Loggins‘ “Playing with the Boys” from the Volleyball Scene here:
You can watch the Official Music Video for OneRepublic‘s “I Ain’t Worried” included in the Football Beach Scene from Top Gun: Maverick here:
Action Films are spelled Tom Cruise…
Tom Cruise knew this and continues to know this in every film venture he makes. He made this for us, as his filmed personal message for viewers told me in the early screening I attended before the film started. Tom has always been great a staying apolitical and just making movies for us to enjoy. He is a dying breed of actor dedicated to the craft of filmmaking. So, while you’re leaving the cancel culture and wokeness home, also leave your judgement home. Come to the theater and watch this film for the sheer fun that it is. It a thrill ride and a half and is the reason movie theaters still exist in a streaming world looking to make them obsolete. Movie theaters aren’t just for Superhero movie franchises in the future. They belong to Tom Cruise. He can still fill the seats and make it worth the price of a film these days. He makes you remember why you love going to the movies in Top Gun: Maverick. Do yourself a favor, don’t wait on this one to be streaming before you watch it! Get to a theater and feel the need for speed like I did!
Reel Top Gun Training..
Two years passed before it finally released in theaters in 2022. Along with the long wait for a sequel the film to be made, let’s say it has been anticipated for a while now. And being the perfectionist action star, we know Tom Cruise to be now, There is no CGI in the flight sequence scenes. So, when he said that if he was ever going to make a sequel, it had to be done right. He included the real flying in it being filmed right, because you can’t make a film about NAVY Fighter Pilots and not really fly. Jerry Bruckheimer once again worked with the US NAVY to help train Tom Cruise and the cast withstand the flying that would be had while filming in the F18’s. But due to a Pentagon regulation, no civilian may operate a Department of Defense owned or operated machinery or vehicle. That includes the F18’s. Instead, the actors were wingmen like ‘Goose’ wile real Top Gun US Navy Pilots flew for them. They still filmed their scenes themselves from their positions and editing with great camera angles coupled with phenomenal cinematography made the scenes appear to show the actor’s really flying the F18’s themselves. You can find Behind the Scenes footage of these flight sequences being filmed under my Featured Blog Page for Top Gun: Maverick.
Here is a Behind the Scenes Look at how those flight sequences in Top Gun: Maverick were filmed:
“You’ve Been Ordered Back To Top Gun..”
It once seemed the world was determined to get in the way of fans having their Top Gun sequel. But we finally got it and it is better than anyone fan thought it could be! It is breaking records already for Tom Cruise and Paramount at the Box Office! Top Gun: Maverick is sure to ride right along Top Gun in the film classic sky! The film defied all the delaying odds and long wait to be one of the best movies of the year and a definite Blockbuster of the summer! Buzz the Tower at your closest cineplex and check back in with Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell for Mach Speed at its finest!
