Paramount Pictures/Skydance Media
After all of these years, there’s still a huge need for speed.
More than three decades after the release of the blockbuster smash Top Gun, moviegoers can look forward to a brand-new sequel already in the works.
And while the star himself Tom Cruise confirmed the news months ago, fans are receiving more and more teases of the project. Jon Hamm, Ed Harris and Lewis Pullman are set to join the cast that also includes Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly and Glen Powell.
Cruise made a surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, where he introduced the very first teaser trailer for the Paramount flick. EW reports that Cruise described Top Gun: Maverick as a love letter to aviation.
So how has all the action unfolded since the project was first announced in 2017?
“We’re going to have the same tone as we had in the first movie. Stylistically, it’s going to be the same. We’re going to have the same score,” Tom previously shared with Access Hollywood. “We’re going to have big fast machines. It’s going to be a competition film like the first one.”
More recently, Hamm told Collider that the film uses “incredibly hi-def” technology, adding, “The aerial footage is mind-blowing.”
Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Shutterstock
“It’s a very strange experience but it’s been a wonderful experience as well,” he continued. “It’s basically getting the whole team back together. Unfortunately, [original director] Tony Scott is unavailable, but they’ve achieved a very similar vibe to the first one. I think it’s gonna be, for the people who love the first movie I think it’s gonna be very interesting to watch. It very much takes the story in a different direction. But I think for the new fans it’s gonna be something very cool, too. I’ve seen some of the footage, it is out of this world.”
While some may expect the movie to be called Top Gun 2, the actor also revealed that the official title is Top Gun: Maverick.
“I didn’t want a number,” Tom explained. “You don’t need a number.”
If you’re thinking all of this information is coming out so quickly, you’re kind of on to something. Tom admitted on The Graham Norton Show that he was in the very early stages of trying to plan a sequel with Jerry Bruckheimer.
Paramount Pictures
Fast-forward to May 2017 when Tom surprised fans on Australia’s Sunrise that the film is happening with filming starting “probably in the next year.” In May 2018, the actor shared the first photo from the upcoming movie on Twitter titled “#Day1.”
While many details still remain up in the air—did you get that folks—one co-star has already expressed his excitement in starring in the movie. Val Kilmer recently took to social media with an announcement: He’s ready to spread his wings and fly.
“Friends said it’s official – #TOPGUN2 was announced today,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m ready Tom- still got my top gun plaque! Still got the moves! Still got it!”
While we wait for more scoop and details to emerge, one thing is certain: Tom couldn’t be more pumped for his latest project.
“I’m very excited. I am really excited,” Tom shared with Access Hollywood. “It’s a great challenge.”
According to Variety, Paramount Studios has given the sequel a tentative release date for June 2020. And for those keeping track, that’s 33 years after the original! Tron: Legacy filmmaker Joseph Kosinski is also planning to direct the film.
(This story was originally published June 5, 2017 at 2:33 p.m. PST)