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Tom Cruise attends the Royal Film Performance and UK Premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick" at Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London, England.

Photos: Tom Cruise stars in 'Top Gun: Maverick'

Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) returns in the anticipated sequel "Top Gun: Maverick."

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10 Behind-the-Scenes Facts You Might Not Know About ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Alison foreman.

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“It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot.” When Miles Teller’s Rooster spits out that gem of a line toward the end of “Top Gun: Maverick,” the second-in-command action star certainly isn’t talking about Hollywood awards season. And yet, it’s an apt metaphor for the blockbuster Best Picture nominee and its spectacular ascent to Sunday’s Oscars.

A sequel to one of cinema’s most iconic fighter pilot movies was always flyable as a business idea: the metaphoric plane, if you will. But after the death of original “Top Gun” director Tony Scott — who passed in 2012 with his own unrealized vision of a follow-up in the works — recruiting the right people to pilot the tentpole for Paramount Pictures grew complicated. Not only did eventual director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer face the uphill battle of evolving a beloved property, but they also had to convince Cruise to come back as Maverick.

“We wanted to bring out a movie purely designed as entertainment,” said Bruckheimer in an interview with IndieWire . “It’s what I’ve been doing my whole career. Tom Cruise felt the same way: when entertaining audiences you hope to get the best story, characters, and scenes, and the best people behind and in front of the camera.”

As producer-star, Cruise was an essential linchpin from beginning to end: even vehemently advocating for a theatrical release when “Top Gun: Maverick” almost got relegated to Paramount+ . He’s not up for Best Actor this year, but Cruise could help collect the statuette for Best Picture should the fan-favorite win over “Avatar 2” and the category’s more traditional fare.

The crowd-pleasing sequel also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song (Lady Gaga and BloodPop’s “Hold My Hand”), Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects. It won big at the box office too, with “The Fabelmans” director Steven Spielberg even quipping that it “saved Hollywood’s ass” at an Academy Awards luncheon in February.

It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot. Here are 10 behind-the-scenes facts to know about Best Picture contender “Top Gun: Maverick” before the 95th Academy Awards.

Check out 10 behind-the-scenes facts you might not know about “The Fabelmans” next.

The Flight Scenes Were Shot Around Real Navy Operations

tom cruise maverick pictures

To get A-lister/notorious daredevil Cruise onboard, Kosinski agreed to shoot “Top Gun: Maverick” using real jets. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda discussed the aerodynamic challenges of “Top Gun: Maverick” with IndieWire, and said, “Since my Navy technical guys had all seen the original ‘Top Gun,’ they got behind the idea of pulling out a lot of gear. We ended up fitting six cameras in the cockpit, including one that had about two-and-a-half inches clearance.”

During pre-production, Miranda and a small crew joined the USS Abraham Lincoln on a training mission. They captured jet take-offs and landings, as well as the flight deck and other ship details. Miranda consulted extensively with original “Top Gun” cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball to better understand the obstacles facing him aboard an aircraft carrier. 

“Kimball had issues where he couldn’t turn his carrier around,” Miranda explained. “I found the right people to talk to, and they would just spin the boat around for me. It doesn’t cost them anything. To be super clear, we were shooting around their missions — they weren’t launching jets for us. And I couldn’t aim towards the sun. But we could turn it this way or that way to get our shots.”

Shooting High-Speed Jets Required Predicting Weather Up to 50 Miles Away

tom cruise maverick pictures

Not only did Miranda have to account for Navy scheduling and the extreme physics of flight, but he also had to contend with changing coastal weather. To get those flight sequences, Miranda had to set his camera exposures before takeoff, and hope they’d prove the right choice in the air.

“I had to guess what the weather was 50 miles down the road,” he said. “I would look to the east where they were flying and see some clouds and maybe open up a third. Then wait, hold on, they’re going away. Or are the jets going 50 feet down into a canyon? Then go with this exposure. I have to say, I didn’t miss.”

Miranda also needed three days to capture the shot of Maverick on his motorcycle, racing down the runway, because it was “too overcast.” 

“We got one in the can,” the Academy Award winner said. “But we decided to go back. It had to be at a certain time of day so the jet crosses right through the sun.”

Another scene, in which Penny and Maverick go sailing, presented problems too when there wasn’t enough wind. Two attempts were made in San Diego and San Pedro, before the final version was captured in San Francisco.

“I was just sitting on the boat rocking with Tom,” Miranda laughed of the failed shoots. “The third time in San Francisco was great. I had one camera on the side of the boat in the front, I operated another camera on the boat next to them, and we had a helicopter as well… I was operating, and [Kosinski] was hanging onto the seat. It was a pretty massive day. We blew a spinnaker. We flooded the Libra head. We had the camera department running out panicking.”

The Darkstar Flyover Scene Was Shot Just Once and Destroyed a Set

tom cruise maverick pictures

In the scene where Maverick reaches Mach 10 in the Darkstar, he flies over Ed Harris’ Hammer right as he’s pulling up to the base gate. As the jet takes off, you can see the roof fly off the guard station: a perfect middle-finger moment that wasn’t planned. The stunt destroyed the set, and the only take Kosinski got is the one used in the film. 

“That’s kind of the entire point of what we did,” VFX production designer Ryan Tudhope told IndieWire of the film’s largely practical approach. “If you look at the other pathway, with probably a group of really talented visual effects designers, who are creating all of the shots in the computer, it ends up lacking a little bit of the happy accidents because it’s overly designed.”

He continued, “There’s all kinds of pitfalls to going down that methodology. Whereas by the very nature of having a real pilot in a real jet being filmed by another real pilot and a real camera operator and another real jet…you end up with these beautiful imperfections.”

Val Kilmer Had the Idea for Iceman to Share His Illness

TOP GUN, Val Kilmer, 1986

Val Kilmer’s Iceman is an intrinsic and unforgettable part of the original “Top Gun,” and a sequel wouldn’t have been the same without him. Kilmer has battled complications from throat cancer for some time, and it was the actor’s idea to have the character share his illness onscreen. An AI-generated voice was used for his dialogue, and was fed hours of old footage of Kilmer to capture his tone and speaking cadence.

“Obviously, the idea of Iceman being an important part of Maverick’s journey was something we all wanted, but didn’t know what Val’s health struggles were,” Kosinski told IndieWire. “This was five years ago, so this was before the documentary [‘Val’]. ”

Kosinski explained, “[Producer] Jerry [Bruckheimer] and I met with Val. He came over to Jerry’s office and we sat down with him and just told him of our desire to figure out a way to get Iceman into the film. It was Val who came up with the idea that Iceman was sick too, so he could integrate into the story in a way that felt authentic and not something that we were trying to hide. And then this notion of Iceman being a guardian angel for Maverick, from the moment they have that handshake at the end of the first film, this idea that Iceman would rise through the ranks as the ideal Navy officer, which he was.”

Tom Cruise Regularly Consulted on Sound

tom cruise maverick pictures

Doubling as producer and star, Cruise consulted heavily across “Top Gun: Maverick” but spent extra time sharing his insights on the mixing stage. Supervising sound editor James Mather, who also works with Cruise on the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, told IndieWire that the actor’s lived stunt experience played a critical role in shaping how they layered the sounds pilots hear — from their own breath to the clicking of joystick manipulation — with explosive jet engine booms.

“On this one, in particular, it was such a personal project for him,” said Mather. “The responsibility and the pressure, I guess, for the success of it was pretty heavy on his shoulders. And I think he came to see us every other day. He’d be training in the day doing jumps and motorbike stunts for ‘Mission: Impossible,’ and then he’d come and sit with us [to edit ‘Top Gun: Maverick’]. He can use his memory of what it was like in [the cockpit], and so there are probably certain nuances, sounds that for him were important that maybe he wants to focus on. When he hears or feels the sound, depending on the volume of it, he has to trigger the same response that reminds him of that experience at the time.”

There Were Multiple Versions of the Beginning and Ending

tom cruise maverick pictures

Though the flight sequences were undeniably challenging, both Kosinski and Miranda told IndieWire another proved more difficult to get. The opening scene in Penny’s bar was filmed twice to establish a stronger relationship between Cruise and Jennifer Connelly’s characters. 

“[Joseph Kosinski] wanted a little bit more history between Penny and Maverick,” Miranda explained. “I wasn’t happy about my lighting on the first one. Instead of a bar packed with extras, for the second we could take people away. That let me use a little more side light and move it differently.” 

The ending was shot multiple times as well. In the final version, Maverick returns to his desert hangar and is joined by Rooster, Penny, and Amelia. 

“I actually shot a version where Phoenix was there too, and Phoenix is talking to Amelia about airplanes, and they’re looking at plane models and having this nice moment together,” Kosinski told IndieWire . “We had versions where Hondo [Bashir Salahuddin] was there, so it was more like a big family. At the end, we narrowed it down to just Rooster and Amelia.”

He continued, “At first, Maverick goes to the bar and Penny’s [Connolly] not there, which was a scene we played with both in and out [of the film]. I’m so glad we put it in, because it’s a great way to reveal Penny at the end of the film with Maverick. It just felt like the right ending. We open the film in the hangar and Maverick is alone, and we end with him in the hangar and he’s surrounded by family, a new family. That’s the journey we wanted to take Maverick on.”

Glen Powell Injured Himself Playing Football

tom cruise maverick pictures

Asked about his most memorable day on-set at the Critics’ Choice Awards, Kosinski told IndieWire , “One that I get asked about a lot, which was a very memorable day, was when we shot the beach football scene,” Kosinski said. The fan-favorite scene is an homage to the original’s campy beach volleyball sequence. 

“The actors were in a very kind of stressed out state, they’d all been working so hard to get ready for that scene,” he continued. “They were under pressure, the weight of the original scene being so iconic. I remember Glen went out 110 percent on the first play and hurt himself, but he was able to recover quickly and we were able to get a great version of it.”

The football scene was also reportedly shot twice at Cruise’s insistence. Powell was also in the running for Rooster (Miles Teller’s part), before getting cast as cocky fighter pilot, Hangman.

Miles Teller Got Sick from Jet Fuel in His Bloodstream

tom cruise maverick pictures

“Top Gun: Maverick” was so intense to shoot that Glen Powell told IndieWire he left out certain details about his training and filming out when talking to his mom. But it was Miles Teller’s family who were given serious reason to worry when the film’s second-lead suffered from blood poisoning after a flight. 

“We landed, and I thought, ‘Man, I’m not feeling too good,’” Teller revealed on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” in June 2022. “I was really hot and I just started itching like crazy. So I got out of the jet. I’m just covered in hives. Head to toe. I go to a doctor. I do a blood analysis. I’m in an oatmeal bath that night. I have sensitive skin anyway, truth be told, Irish-Scottish skin. No dyes, no nothing.”

Teller continued, “I go to set the next day and Tom‘s like, ‘How did it go Miles? What did they find?’” Teller continued. “I was like, ‘Well, Tom, it turns out I have jet fuel in my blood.’ And without even skipping a beat Tom goes ‘Yeah, I was born with it, kid. So that was a very Tom moment for me.”

Joseph Kosinski Claims the Unnamed Enemy to the U.S. Was… Canada?

TOP GUN: MAVERICK, (aka TOP GUN 2), director Joseph Kosinski, on set, 2022.  ph: Scott Garfield /© Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

“The answer is it’s Canada,” Kosinski joked with IndieWire, when asked about the film’s unnamed foreign adversary. “We didn’t want to make this a movie about geopolitics. It’s a competition film. It’s a film about friendship, about sacrifice. It’s a rite-of-passage story. It’s all those things. It’s not a movie about the current state of world events which, by the way, have changed so much from when we made the film. If we had even decided [a country when we made it], it probably would’ve been outdated. The idea was always to make the enemy faceless and nameless.”

The director continued, “That’s why in designing this third act, I put it in a world that was not identifiable as, I think, any of the places people are guessing. I liked the idea of putting it in a snowy region, so we shot it in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state to also invert the ‘Top Gun’ aesthetic, to get away from the San Diego sunsets and flip it on its head. To me, that was an exciting way to really change the feeling of the film and make it feel like we were somewhere far away. I know people look at the F-14 [enemy fighter jets] or the fifth-generation fighter jets or the landscape and try to piece it together, but it really is nowhere.”

Test Audiences Didn’t Have to See “Top Gun” to Love Its Sequel

tom cruise maverick pictures

In the same interview with IndieWire , Kosinski said he was relieved to learn audiences unfamiliar with the 1986 original were as onboard with its decades-in-the-making sequel as longterm fans. 

“We did a little bit of audience testing,” he said. “What was a surprise to us was, whether or not you had seen the first film, people were rating the film exactly the same. There was no difference between ‘Top Gun’ fans and non-‘Top Gun’ fans. I could have never anticipated that, but I do think people could potentially get more out of it if they’ve seen the first film.”

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Emma stone reteam with yorgos lanthimos ‘kinds of kindness’ hitting theaters this summer, ‘top gun: maverick’ world premiere photos: tom cruise pilots helicopter onto deck of aircraft carrier for massive red carpet event.

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The Top Gun: Maverick world premiere is being held tonight on the USS Midway, the iconic Navy aircraft carrier docked in San Diego. Given that fact, of course Tom Cruise took the opportunity to pilot a helicopter onto the flight deck before sauntering over to the red carpet .

Castmembers Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Monica Barbaro and more were joined by a group of superfans — and Kenny Loggins — for the once-in-a-lifetime event which Oscar-winner Connelly called “extraordinary.”

Click on the photo above to launch the red carpet gallery from the premiere.

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‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Cast and Character Guide (Photos)

Time to feel the need… the need for speed

tom cruise maverick pictures

“Top Gun: Maverick” is now soaring, and while you can’t miss Tom Cruise’s return to the skies, there are quite a few new young pilots joining his ranks. Other names mentioned in the original film come to life, while some characters from Maverick’s past stay off the screen in the sequel.

Another classic character that comes back in “Maverick” is Iceman (Val Kilmer), while the younger pilots bring their own energy to the film.

Here’s who plays who in “Top Gun: Maverick”:

tom cruise maverick pictures

Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise)

Tom Cruise reprises the role of Captain Pete Mitchell, who many think would have been promoted past the status of captain by now. He is more often referred to by his call sign “Maverick,” and now he test-flies cutting edge planes for the navy. Maverick tried his hand at becoming an instructor at Top Gun years ago, but he didn’t fit. That is, until Commander Iceman calls him back to teach the best of the best how to execute one heck of a mission.

Tom Cruise is, of course, one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.

tom cruise maverick pictures

Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly)

Penny was the daughter of the Admiral the Pete fooled around with in the original “Top Gun.” She now owns The Hard Deck bar near the Top Gun naval base in San Diego. She remembers Pete as well as he remembers her, although she married someone else and now has a daughter. Her husband remarried, so she is single.

Past films for Connelly include “Requiem for a Dream” (2000), “A Beautiful Mind” (2001), “Hulk” (2003), “House of Sand and Fog” (2003) and “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (2008).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky

Iceman, or Ice for even shorter, was in Maverick’s class at Top Gun. He graduated top of the class, making Maverick second, but the two bonded in the end despite butting heads. Iceman is now a very high-ranking admiral who sometimes pulls strings to keep Maverick around. They get a very touching scene in the film.

Kilmer starred as one of the first versions of Batman in “Batman Forever” (1995). He has also portrayed Mark Twain in “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn” (2014) and “Cinema Twain” (2019).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Bernie “Hondo” Coleman (Bashir Salahuddin)

Bernie is working on the program that Maverick is currently test-piloting. When Maverick gets the call to return to Top Gun, Bernie goes with him and becomes his assistant coach out in the field. W01 stands for Warrant Officer Rank 1, and Warrant Officers have great technical skill and leadership. The Navy relies on them to repair equipment and for communications. Salahuddin served as a writer on “Sherman’s Showcase,” “South Side” and “Chocolate News.” He has recently appeared in “The Dropout” (2022).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Admiral Chester “Hammer” Cain (Ed Harris)

Adm. Cain visits Maverick when he pushes a plane to Mach 10 in order to save the program he is currently test-piloting for. As Maverick launches into the sky, the force of the jet washes over Cain, who is still at the entry gate. Cain came in person to officially cancel the program, but Maverick — as usual — got in the way. Harris is known for “Apollo 13” (1995), “The Truman Show” (1998), “Pollock” (2000) and “Appaloosa” (2008).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (Jon Hamm)

Cyclone has no tolerance for Maverick’s shenanigans. He is under orders from Iceman to give Maverick the teaching job, but he has his doubts. Hamm makes Cyclone a very strict no-nonsense admiral. Jon Hamm is best known for his role as Don Draper in the show “Mad Men” (2007-2015). He has also appeared in “The Town” (2010), Disney’s “Million Dollar Arm” (2014) and “Tag” (2018).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Admiral Solomon “Warlock” Bates (Charles Parnell)

Warlock is a little bit more forgiving of Maverick’s past transgressions. He even secretly cheers him on later in the film. Warlock sits in on Maverick’s lessons along with Cyclone. Parnell has appeared in “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (2014), “The Last Ship” (2014-2018), “The Warriors” (2005) and”Bones” (2008).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller)

When Warlock and Cyclone show Maverick the roster of students he will be training, he immediately singles out Bradley Bradshaw, whose call sign is Rooster. Rooster is Goose’s son, and Maverick not only has the emotional baggage from flying with Goose (played by Anthony Edwards) back in “Top Gun” and losing him in an accident, but now facing his son. Rooster’s mom asked Maverick to pull his papers from the naval academy, which set him back four years in his career. Teller has starred in “The Spectacular Now” (2013) “Whiplash” (2014), “Fantastic Four” (2015), the “Divergent” films and more recently, “The Offer” series as Alfred S. Ruddy.

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin (Glenn Powell)

Hangman is a skilled pilot, but he is also cocky. He walks a fine line between charming and full-of-himself or just plain a-hole. Hangman likes to get under people’s skin, and once he senses the beef between Rooster and Maverick, it doesn’t take him long to find out why the two have tension. Glenn Powell originally auditioned for the role of Rooster, but later took on Hangman after a phone call from Tom Cruise. Powell has previously starred in “Set It Up” (2018) as Charlie and “Scream Queens” (2015-2016) as Chad Radwell. He appeared in “Hidden Figures” (2016) as astronaut John Glenn and “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” (2018) as Mark Reynolds.

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Natasha “Phoenix” Trace (Monica Barbaro)

Phoenix is the standout woman pilot of the group, called back with one other woman pilot. Barbaro has previously held roles in TV shows like “The Good Cop,” “Splitting Up Together” and “Chicago Justice.”

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Robert “Bob” Floyd (Lewis Pullman)

Bob becomes Phoenix’s trusty second seat. His call sign is Bob, and he gets made fun of for that, but he gets the job done, just like Goose did for Maverick back in the day. Pullman has previously appeared in “Bad Times at the El Royale” (2018), “Them That Follow” (2019) and TV series like “Catch-22” and “Outer Range.”

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Reuben “Payback” Fitch (Jay Ellis)

Payback proves his worth as a pilot with partner Fanboy. Their bond is a special one, and they flourish under Maverick’s teaching. He eventually chooses them as a key component to the mission for which he was called to train all the pilots. Ellis has appeared in “Insecure” on HBO, “Mrs. America” (2020) and “Masters of Sex” (2014).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Mickey “Fanboy“ Garcia (Danny Rodriguez)

Fanboy is Payback’s flight partner. He sits in the backseat and operates more of the controls on the plane and looks around for threats. Rodriguez has appeared in “Assassination  Nation” (2018), Marvel’s “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021) and Hulu’s “No Exit” (2022).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Javy “Coyote” Machado (Greg Tarzan)

Coyote runs in the same circles as Hangman, Phoenix and Rooster. He competes for a part in the mission, but is not chosen. Greg Tarzan previously appeared on “Grey’s Anatomy” as Dr. Jordan Wright, and he will also accompany Cruise in “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning.”

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Brigham “Harvard” Lennox (Jake Picking)

Harvard, portrayed by Jake Picking, doesn’t get much screen time or lines, but his face pops up during initial training and the push-ups competition that stems from it. Picking has held previous roles in “Patriots Day” (2016), “Hollywood” (2020) and “The First Lady” (2022).

tom cruise maverick pictures

Lieutenant Billy “Fritz” Avalone (Manny Jacinto)

Manny Jacinto’s Fritz also doesn’t get any lines or that much screentime, but his famous face is recognizable in the squadron of talent recruited for Maverick to teach. Jacinto is known for his role of Jason in “The Good Place” (2016-2020) and also playing Yao in ‘Nine Perfect Strangers” (2021).

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'Top Gun: Maverick' puts Tom Cruise back in the cockpit, 36 years later

Washington, DC - May 03, 2016: Stephen Thompson CREDIT: Matt Roth

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Tom Cruise stars as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick. Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures hide caption

Tom Cruise stars as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick.

Top Gun first hit theaters in 1986, starring Tom Cruise as a cocky fighter pilot who trains in an elite military program. Now, there's finally a sequel called Top Gun: Maverick , in which Cruise returns to train a new generation of pilots.

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Meet the New Class of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

From trying not to vomit in flight to oiling up for a beach scene, the actors playing pilots got a crash course in the Tom Cruise school of action filmmaking.

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tom cruise maverick pictures

By Ashley Spencer

Thirty-six years after Iceman, Hollywood and Cougar took to the skies in “Top Gun,” a new team of colorfully nicknamed characters are suiting up in “ Top Gun: Maverick.”

This time, the aviators are recent graduates of the Navy’s elite fighter school, a.k.a. Top Gun, and they’re tasked with a near-impossible mission overseen by Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, the brash pilot played by Tom Cruise. Flying alongside Rooster, the son of the original film’s ill-fated Goose, are Hangman, Phoenix, Bob, Coyote, Fanboy and Payback, who must help destroy a foreign enemy’s uranium plant and get out alive. (Though the characters all have actual names, they’re introduced by their aviator call signs, and that’s how they’re known.)

The intensive tutelage began offscreen: Cruise monitored the actors’ progress during a grueling five-month training program that culminated in the cast shooting their own action sequences from the back of real F/A-18 jets flown by Navy fighter pilots.

Here’s a peek at the new generation of actors behind the call signs.

Glen Powell

“Maverick” role: Hangman

Where you’ve seen him before: “Set It Up,” “Hidden Figures,” “Scream Queens”

Powell originally auditioned to play Rooster (then called Rascal) but lost out to Miles Teller. Then, when Powell was offered the role that would become Hangman, he turned it down for fear it would be a copy-and-paste take on Val Kilmer’s antagonistic Iceman in the 1986 film. Cruise persuaded Powell to sign on, and they worked together to make the character distinctly Powell’s own. Still, the cocky, confrontational pilot shares more than a few traits with Iceman — as does Powell with Kilmer. When Powell moved out of the San Diego hotel where he had stayed during filming, he bumped into Kilmer, who had just arrived to shoot his scene. “The last things that I moved out of my room were protein powder, weights and tequila,” Powell said. “I’m literally wheeling them on a luggage cart into the elevator, and as the doors are about to close, Val steps in. He looks at me. Then he looks at the luggage cart. And he just started dying laughing. He’s like, ‘This is ‘Top Gun’ right here.’”

Monica Barbaro

“Maverick” role: Phoenix

Where you’ve seen her before: “ The Good Cop,” “Chicago Justice,” “UnREAL”

The military did not allow women to fly in combat until 1993 , and in the first “Top Gun,” all of the Navy fighter pilot characters were men. Barbaro’s role in the sequel is a reflection of the service’s inclusive shift, and her filmed flights were all handled by female Navy fighter pilots. “When I found out I got the part, I was like, ‘Mom, I got it! And guess what? I get to play a pilot. I’m not a love interest!’” the Northern California native said. “We used the women that we got to fly with as role models for how we designed the character.” And while the actors were allowed to change their characters’ call signs, it quickly became clear during the cast’s downtime together that “Phoenix” was a good fit for Barbaro: “Let’s just say, we had one pretty wild night, and the next morning they were surprised that I arose from the ashes.”

Greg Tarzan Davis

“Maverick” role: Coyote

Where you’ve seen him before: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Good Trouble,” “Chicago P.D.”

Not long before landing “Maverick,” Davis was an elementary schoolteacher in his home state of Louisiana. “I’m a big believer in following your dreams. I would preach that to my students,” Davis said. “But I realized I wasn’t doing that — because my dream was to be an actor. So I decided to give it a shot.” In a role reversal, Davis, who has gone by Tarzan since his own “wild” youth, said he felt like a kid throughout production, enthralled by the aviation toys and tasked with learning new things. While “Maverick” was in postproduction, he got a call from Christopher McQuarrie, the writer-director of “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One”; the frequent Cruise collaborator was asking him to join the cast, no audition required. “I put the phone on mute and jumped up and down and screamed,” Davis said. “That was my first offer, and having an offer is an actor’s dream.”

Lewis Pullman

“Maverick” role: Bob

Where you’ve seen him before: “Outer Range,” “Bad Times at the El Royale,” “Catch-22”

Of all the call signs, Pullman’s “Bob” (also his character’s first name) is the most mysteriously straightforward. “Bob is reclusive and quiet and a hard nut to crack,” Pullman said. “One of the original drafts had this moment where he kind of earned his stripes, and Hangman says, ‘I think I know what Bob stands for: Big Ol’ Balls.’ They didn’t end up using that, but it gave me a reference for Bob’s trajectory. He starts out as this unassuming guy, who then finds his strength.” Pullman needed strength of his own when Cruise walked into the first table read. Despite being the son of the actor Bill Pullman, Lewis was star-struck. “Tom basically ripped through the doors. His motorcycle in the background. He’s got his helmet on. The sun is glistening. He takes his helmet off, and his hair is perfect,” he said. “Tom is like Cary Grant and Buzz Aldrin and Buster Keaton and Evel Knievel all woven into one man.”

“Maverick” role: Payback

Where you’ve seen him before: “Insecure,” “Escape Room,” “The Game”

Ellis distinctly recalls the day his father, who was then a mechanic in the Air Force, took him to see the first “Top Gun” in a theater on base in Austin, Texas. “I remember just looking up at the screen thinking, ‘I want to do that. Whatever those guys are up there doing, I want to be a part of that somehow,’” he said. Rather than enlist, Ellis became an actor. Fast forward three decades, and he found himself shooting “Maverick” and paying homage to the original’s beach volleyball scene with a game of beach football as the camera panned over the cast’s glistening muscles for a sun-dappled montage. “We probably went through five different types of oil because the makeup team was trying to figure out what wouldn’t soak into everyone’s skin so quickly,” Ellis said. “We started out with baby oil, then we moved on to argan oil, coconut oil, avocado oil. We switched to glycerin at one point. They were spraying us down with Evian bottles. It made for a very slippery game.”

Danny Ramirez

“Maverick” role: Fanboy

Where you’ve seen him before: “ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “On My Block,” “Assassination Nation”

Before signing on, the actors had to check a box attesting they weren’t afraid of flying. “I lied,” Ramirez said with a laugh. “I was like, What’s the worst that could happen? It’s a Tom Cruise movie, that means he’ll be the one doing the stunts.” Without his usual commercial-flight routine of wine and noise-canceling headphones, Ramirez found himself struggling not to vomit as his F/A-18 rolled and dove through the air. The actors each had their own tricks to cope with motion sickness: Davis relied on Dramamine. Pullman preferred a preflight diet of rice and fresh ginger. For Ramirez, slowly building tolerance in incrementally smaller and faster planes was key. Adding to the degree of difficulty: They not only had to deliver their lines, but also set up the shots and adjust the cameras themselves once in the air. “I was like, ‘Are we going to get some kind of camera operator credit or what?’” he said. “Having to line up another jet going 500 miles an hour to stay within the frame was an experience I’m probably never going to have again.”

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Why Top Gun: Maverick starts exactly the same way as the original film

"I wanted that opening sequence to just tell you, this is a Top Gun movie," says director Joseph Kosinski.

Senior Writer

The folks behind Top Gun: Maverick (out May 27) are hoping to give audiences a shot of welcome nostalgia thanks to returning Top Gun cast members Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer .

But even before those actors arrive on screen, viewers will get a strong sense of déjà vu with an opening credit sequence that director Joseph Kosinski modeled closely on that of the original film. Yes, fans will see pilots and support crew members readying planes for take-off on an aircraft carrier, and, yes, they will hear first Harold Faltermeyer's opening theme and Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone." In fact, when EW recently saw the film at a press screening, it seemed possible the movie being projected was the original until Kosinki's own credit appeared.

"The title sequence and the music is the same, but the moment you get on the carrier, those are all new jets," says the director. "So on the original movie it was A-6s and F-14s, now it's F-18s and, F-35s. That was all shot on the USS Lincoln and the USS Teddy Roosevelt."

So why did Kosinki decide to so faithfully recreate the first film's opening sequence?

"I wanted that first few minutes to just tell you, this is a Top Gun movie, we love it as much you do," he says. "From there, our story goes in a very different direction, but I wanted the first few minutes to let the audience know: Don't worry, we love it too, this is going to be a Top Gun movie."

In Top Gun: Maverick , Cruise's character returns to the Top Gun training program to prepare a batch of pilots for a seemingly impossible mission. The cast also includes Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell , and Miles Teller, who plays the son of Anthony Edwards' character "Goose" from the 1986 film.

"So just like Maverick going back to Top Gun in the film, I wanted the audience to feel like we were going back to Top Gun ," continues Kosinski. "It had to have that same feel, but at the same time I knew we'd have to tell our own story, and I'd have to find a way to innovate on my own."

The Top Gun: Maverick credit sequence also acts as a tip of the hat to the late Tony Scott, who producer Jerry Bruckheimer chose to direct the original movie after Scott made the 1983 vampire tale The Hunger .

"His direction of that first film [is] so much of what made it what it is," says Kosinski.

Scott would go on to direct Beverly Hills Cop II , the Cruise-starring Days of Thunder , True Romance , Crimson Tide , and Unstoppable , among other action-filled films, before his death by suicide in 2012.

"He was a true artist," says Kosinski. "Jerry gave him a giant blockbuster and it just looked so different from anything that came before it, [and] obviously changed the way that movies are shot."

Watch the opening credit sequence of the original Top Gun below.

Related content: Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly 's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

  • Top Gun: Maverick review: A high-flying sequel gets it right
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Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

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Photos of Kate Middleton, Prince William, Tom Cruise at the 'Top Gun: Maverick' Premiere in London

Prince William and Kate Middleton got all dressed up to welcome the stars of Top Gun: Maverick to London's Leicester Square on May 19

tom cruise maverick pictures

In London on Thursday night, May 19, Prince William and Kate Middleton helped welcome Tom Cruise and his castmates to the U.K. premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in Leicester Square.

The royals went glam for the evening, with William in a navy tux (and loafers embroidered with F-18 planes!) and Kate in an off-the-shoulder gown by Roland Mouret

Cruise graciously helped Kate up the steps and into the theater.

Outside the venue, William and Kate met more of the film's stars, including Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly.

The duchess chatted with the actors; she previously met Cruise at the 2021 Euro final in London, according to the Express .

Cruise was fresh off the Top Gun: Maverick premiere in France at the Cannes Film Festival, where he received an extended standing ovation.

Kate also caught up with Top Gun: Maverick star Jon Hamm.

On the way down the theater steps, Cruise and William were deep in conversation.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer was also on hand for the big premiere.

The cast took five for a group photo in front of a plane brought to the red carpet for the starry occasion.

Netflix to add Tom Cruise blockbuster with 99% on Rotten Tomatoes this month

Aviators at the ready

Top Gun: Maverick

QUICK SUMMARY

Netflix is adding the long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick to its platform. The Tom Cruise film will be available from March 22nd. 

It may be the weekend of the Oscars but sometimes you can have your fill of arthouse movies and just want to watch something spectacular instead. There's nothing wrong with that, but you will have to wait just a little longer to watch one of the biggest movies in years at home. 

On March 22nd, Netflix is entering the danger zone, that's right, Top Gun: Maverick will hit the streaming service. It's no indie darling but that's not stopped it from universal acclaim with a stellar 99% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 96% critic score. That's a heck of an achievement and you'll soon be able to catch it on another of the best streaming services (it's already available on Paramount Plus ). 

A follow-up 36 years in the making, Top Gun: Maverick sees Tom Cruise's peerless pilot (who looks almost the exact same) return. Now he's teaching the next generation of aces how to be heroes, including the son of his late former wingman Goose (Miles Teller) - I'm not crying, you are. Rooster (his callsign) is a capable pilot with lofty career goals, but Maverick made a promise to the boy's mother that he wouldn't let him fly, putting him in a difficult position. 

But what you really want to know are two things, is the flying epic? And is there a volleyball scene? The answer to both is an emphatic yes. Tom Cruise wasn't allowed to fly the jets himself (although he probably could) but the stunts are real, with absolutely minimal CGI.

Making a sequel to one of the most famous movies of all time is no small task, but Maverick is an excellent blend of paying homage to the original (with some familiar faces popping up) and telling its own story. Director Joseph Kosinski has remarkably done it twice, also leading Tron:Legacy the sequel to 80's classic Tron . 

If you need something to fill the time until the 22nd then why not try something a bit more unusual with Adam Sandler's Spider-infused sci-fi , also on Netflix ? 

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Andy is T3's Tech Staff Writer, covering all things technology, including his biggest passions such as gaming, AI, phones, and basically anything cool and expensive he can get his hands on. If he had to save one possession from a fire it would be his PlayStation 5. He previously worked for Tom’s Guide - where he got paid to play with ChatGPT every day. When it comes to streaming, Andy will have his headphones glued in whilst watching something that will make him laugh. He studied Creative Writing at university, but also enjoys supporting his favourite football team (Liverpool), watching F1, teaching himself guitar, and spending time with his dog.

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The 10 Best Tom Cruise Action Movies, Ranked

Is there a stunt he won't do?

The movie trailers always show him running, and he's seemingly unwilling to slow down: Tom Cruise is continually at the top of his game. With a career spanning over four decades , this action icon goes all in for every role and production. Oscar-nominated for leading dramatic roles in Jerry Maguire and Born on the Fourth of July , famous for his quotable exchange with Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men —"I want the truth!" "You can't handle the truth!"—, and recognized for his blockbuster franchise epics, Cruise is by definition a true movie star.

As one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood , Cruise's action credits include some of the top-grossing movies of all time, long-standing franchises, and page-to-screen adaptations. With stunt work that leaves audiences gasping and skillful acting range that elevates a scene to more, Cruise's filmography includes some of the best in the entire action genre.

10 'Jack Reacher' (2012)

Directed by christopher mcquarrie.

Translating the famous action novel series to the big screen was a challenge fit for a star like Cruise and seasoned collaborating director Christopher McQuarrie . The titular character, Jack (Cruise), is a former military investigator who is called to a murder case involving an ex-sniper. There, he works closely with the suspect's defense attorney, Helen Rodin ( Rosamund Pike ), and the case takes a twist as Reacher dives deeper into the evidence.

This page-to-screen adaptation landed well with viewers and critics; however, Cruise's second outing as Jack Reacher in a sequel was unanimously rotten to the point where he did not reprise the role again in future movies or the current Amazon series. Jack Reacher is an action film that's better than you thought it'd be, but still remains seemingly lackluster compared to other entries in Cruise's illustrious career.

Jack Reacher

Watch on Paramount+

9 'American Made' (2017)

Directed by doug liman.

Certainly, a morally gray character in his character canon, Cruise is charismatic as Barry Seal. The action comedy is based on a true story about an American pilot who becomes in charge of a covert CIA operation where he becomes a drug runner in the 1980s. The feature would not be the first time Cruise and director Doug Liman have teamed up, but American Made is the polar opposite of their previous action work together.

American Made focuses more on complex character development versus the usual explosions, running, and sweaty-palm stunts Cruise fans are used to; however, accidents on the set loomed over the production. It's more comedy than action, but with Cruise's star power and all the complete ingredients, it's a suitable non-franchise feature.

American Made

Watch on Apple TV

8 'War of the Worlds' (2005)

Directed by steven spielberg.

This would be the second time in which Steven Spielberg and Cruise would work together to bring a sci-fi adaptation to the screen. Based on the classic H.G. Wells novel, War of the Worlds finds humanity under alien attack. The fight for survival is told through the perspective of blue-collar father Ray Ferrier (Cruise) and his children ( Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin ).

When audiences think of action stars, they think: Cruise. When they think of blockbuster directors, they think: Spielberg . The pair presented a sci-fi action installment that both terrified and thrilled audiences while respecting the notoriety of the original acclaimed feature and source material. War of the Worlds remains one of their best entries because not only did it deliver its action promise, it provoked a deeper inner dialogue with viewers about the traumas and experiences post-9/11 .

War of The Worlds

7 'the last samurai' (2003), directed by edward zwick.

The 90s and 2000s were home to a genre of period action dramas led by powerhouse actors like Mel Gibson in Braveheart and The Patriot , Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans , Kevin Coster in Dances with Wolves , and Russell Crowe in Gladiator . The Last Samurai is Tom Cruise's entry in that genre of action as Captain Nathan Algren, an officer in the post-Civil War American military, sent to Japan at the request of the Emperor ( Shichinosuke Nakamura ) to train their army in modern warfare tactics.

Despite some initial controversy (i.e. the title paired with Cruise's image), The Last Samurai holds its own , especially when it comes to production value. Edward Zwick and the writers crafted an epic narrative focused on tradition and redemption against the backdrop of grand battle scenes and world-building. The film earned four Oscar nominations, two of which were for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration.

The Last Samurai

Watch on Amazon

6 'Minority Report' (2002)

Two legendary cinematic icons collaborated to bring to the big screen an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's famous sci-fi novella "Minority Report." Cruise stars as Chief John Anderton of the Pre-crime Division, a police unit that uses the psychic abilities of the PreCogs to arrest and convict criminals before they commit their crimes. John's world and purpose change drastically when he is predicted to murder a man he's never met.

A dark feature for both industry titans, Spielberg's Minority Report is an action thriller that remains relevant and an excellent repeat watch today. From Cruise's complex performance to Spielberg's masterful world-building, the questions of surveillance and privacy in an advancing age of technology elevate the film some twenty years later.

Minority Report

5 'collateral' (2004), directed by michael mann.

Michael Mann flips the action script for Cruise, this time the action legend starring as the villain. Opposite Jamie Foxx , Collateral features Cruise as Vincent, a contract killer, who uses Max (Foxx), a cab driver, to deliver him to each of his hits throughout one night in Los Angeles. Foxx's performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film's second Oscar nomination was for Best Film Editing.

The signature styling of Michael Mann paired well with a one-off villainous performance by Cruise . Instead of relying on high-stakes sequences and jaw-dropping stunts, Collateral brings out the acting in Cruise instead of forcing audiences to rely on the usual action suspects.

Watch on Hulu

4 'Top Gun: Maverick' (2022)

Directed by joseph kosinski.

The highly-anticipated sequel demolished any potential of falling victim to the drawn-out sequel/remake curse . With 30 years of Naval service to his name, Maverick returns to the Top Gun Academy to train a new group of recruits for a highly specialized mission with maneuvers that have never been successfully executed before. To complicate matters, one of the top graduates is Lt. Bradley Bradshaw ( Miles Teller ), the son of Maverick's deceased best friend Goose.

Top Gun: Maverick roared into theaters, becoming the highest-grossing feature for Cruise and breaking multiple records along the way with its $1.4 billion run . The action feat took all the successful elements of the original and capitalized on the potential of modern resources, including star power.

Top Gun: Maverick

3 'edge of tomorrow' (2014).

Originally titled "Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow," what ultimately became the feature's tagline sums up the premise. As aliens wreak havoc on the world , Major William Cage (Cruise) is sent into combat on a suicide mission. Having never seen combat, Cage is killed almost instantly; however, he's thrust into a time loop of the same battle that leads to his death. As he lives through and dies in the loop over and over again, his combat experience improves, teaming up with comrade, Rita ( Emily Blunt ), in their attempts to kill the aliens.

This is an action film that drew audiences in with all the right elements—Cruise, Blunt, sci-fi action, and a corny, but accurate tagline—and produced a blockbuster hit. Edge of Tomorrow steers clear of the action genre's pitfalls of poor storylines and writing for the sake of action. Co-written by Christopher McQuarrie , Jez Butterworth , and John-Henry Butterworth , the script and Cage's character set Cruise up for success to carry yet another one-off action hit.

Edge of Tomorrow

2 'top gun' (1986), directed by tony scott.

A blockbuster turned cult classic, Top Gun is the second franchise that is synonymous with the name Tom Cruise. He stars as the iconic Maverick, a hot-shot pilot competing for the bragging rights of best in the class at the Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons school. He's enrolled alongside his close friend and co-pilot Goose ( Anthony Edwards ), the pair antagonizing their top competitor, Iceman ( Val Kilmer ).

The film is formulaic action with its cocky, but talented leading role, a quick tragedy to humble him, a kick-ass theme song, that beach volleyball scene , and heart-dropping action sequences. Top Gun is a foundational 80s action film that, despite a lackluster outing with critics, earned four technical Oscar nominations, winning for Best Original Song .

1 'Mission: Impossible' Franchise (1996-)

Directed by brian de palma, john woo, j.j. abrams, brad bird, and christopher mcquarrie.

In this iconic franchise , every installment truly gets better and better as they consistently up the action ante. A career-defining character, Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt, an Impossible Missions Force agent. The first installment, Mission: Impossible , finds Ethan at the beginning of his IMF career. The series follows Ethan's adventurous career, each chapter an individual instance in the larger scheme of IMF and the forces working against it.

As each Mission Impossible increases in size and action magnitude, Cruise is at the forefront of pushing the limits. He's known for never shying away from a death-defying stunt , allowing the franchise to pack in the authenticity of the great action film for audiences. Cruise's investment in this franchise, from production to stunts and the acting performances in between, make it truly his best action work.

Mission Impossible 3

NEXT: The 'Mission: Impossible' Oscar Nominations Were a Long Time Coming

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    Street commercial advertisement poster from Paramount Pictures featuring Top Gun Maverick movie and American actor Tom Cruise in Spain. A street commercial advertisement poster from Paramount... Actor Tom Cruise attends the red carpet for the Japan Premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick" at Osanbashi Yokohama on May 24, 2022 in Yokohama, Kanagawa,...

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  17. Top Gun: Maverick

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  24. Top Gun Maverick Premiere in London: Photos of Kate Middleton, Tom Cruise

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  26. 10 Best Tom Cruise Action Movies, Ranked

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