Could it possibly be true? One of the best and most iconic movies of the 1980s is going to be receiving a modern-day sequel?
According to the Hollywood Reporter the writer behind Disney's upcoming live-action version of "The Jungle Book" is in negotiations to work on a sequel to the 1986 box office smash that has earned nearly $354 million since its release.
Rumored to be produced by Paramount and Skydance, the sequel is expected to feature Tom Cruise reprising his iconic role as Maverick in a storyline that celebrates "the relevence of good old-fashioned pilots in today's high-tech, drone-centric war environment."
"The concept is, basically, are the pilots obsolete because of drones. Cruise is going to show them that they're not obsolete. They're here to stay," explained producer Jerry Bruckheimer. "It's just getting to the starting place. Fortunately for Tom, he's very busy, so you have to find a slot he can fit into and get a budget that Paramount feels they can make the picture."
The director of the original "Top Gun," Tony Scott, died in 2012 from an apparent suicide and was rumored to have been the go-to director for the sequel. Since his passing, the decision as to who might be up for the task of directing the sequel is still up in the air.
Despite this tragic setback, Bruckheimer has been determined to still get the sequel off the ground.
"We've been trying to get that movie made for 30 years, and I think we're getting closer and closer," he said. "Don [Simpson] and I tried to develop something, we didn't succeed. [Tom] Cruise took over, and he tried to develop something, and he didn't succeed. Now we're back at it."
If they can manage to pull the right people together and make it happen, "Top Gun 2" will surely go down as one of the more anticipated sequels to date, with 28 years having already passed since the original "Top Gun" was released.
While the sequel is expected to feature drones and other elements of modern technology and warfare mixed with a traditional Navy fighter pilot storyline, the original story centered around an elite fighter weapon school in San Diego during the Cold War.
The film won an Academy Award in 1987 for 'Best Original Song' for the song "Take My Breath Away."
