“I feel the need – the need for speed…” is probably one of cinema’s best-known movie taglines and 1986’s Top Gun has, in many ways, remained a benchmark for a certain type of cinema. The Tom Cruise vehicle was the kind of testosterone, high-risks story that combines the bonafide spirit of brotherhood and patriotism while serving in the military but one that never quite tipped its suspension of disbelief into the fantastical realms of one-man armies that were also out at the same time and fuelled the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s careers.
The visuals were immersive and the music (with the likes of ‘Highway to the Danger Zone‘ and ‘Show Me Heaven‘) remains a memorable soundtrack to the Eighties.
Ever since there’s been a question over whether there would ever be a sequel featuring the surviving members of its ensemble, though the amount of time going by always suggested that perhaps the moment had past. The 2012 death of Tony Scott, who directed the original and who had been exchanging ideas with Cruise for a while about a follow-up movie, might arguably have sealed its fate, but in some ways it reinvigorated the desire of those left to make sure it eventually got made.
Lo and behold, today – on the first real day of the San Diego Comic Con – we saw the release of the trailer for Top Gun: Maverick which catches up with Cruise’s character, Pete Mitchell, thirty-four years later. He’s a pilot who should have made Admiral but who has remained, for decades, as a Captain – the clue to his lack of promotion in the film’s title and his call-sign: Maverick. He’s an instructor at the Top Gun flight-school and is given the opportunity to shape the skills of Bradley Bradshaw (Teller) who is the son of his old partner ‘Goose’ (Anthony Edwards). The new film also stars Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm with Val Kilmer making a rare screen appearance to reprise the role of ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.
Though originally planned to be released this year, the film’s production was postponed and will now reach cinemas 26th June 2020.
