After over 30 years from the release of Top Gun, Tom Cruise confirmed that the classic film's sequel is finally happening.
Cruise is heading back to the danger zone with familiar faces, drumming up excitement for Top Gun 2.
Cruise Confirms 'Top Gun 2'
In an interview with Australian morning program Sunrise, Cruise confirmed that Top Gun 2 is in the works, with the movie to start filming in the next year.
"You're the first people I've said it to, you asked me and so I'm telling you," Cruise said to the stunned hosts, adding that the long-awaited sequel is "definitely happening."
Cruise revealed no further details regarding Top Gun 2, which has long been a goal for Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The original movie was the highest-grossing film in 1986 and has since earned over $300 million.
A report from September 2014 said that Top Gun 2 will see Cruise reprise his role as hotshot pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, though in an unfamiliar environment. The film is said to focus on the relevance of human pilots in modern warfare, which is dominated by advanced technology such as drones. The plot on the return of Maverick against drones was further confirmed in June 2015.
Other 'Top Gun 2' Details
The director of Top Gun, Tony Scott, died in 2012 from an apparent suicide, leaving the role wide open for Top Gun 2.
However, sources told Variety that Joseph Kosinski, the director of 2013 science-fiction film Oblivion, which also started Cruise, is the frontrunner to helm Top Gun 2. There is currently no offer yet for Kosinski, but sources expect it to come anytime soon.
Cruise reportedly met with potential directors for Top Gun 2 before and during the filming of Mission Impossible 6 in London. Cruise's experience with Kosinski in Oblivion is not the sole factor in his claiming of the role to direct Top Gun 2, though, as his vision on the sequel officially landed him the job.
Meanwhile, Val Kilmer, who played Maverick's rival Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in Top Gun, has gone on record that he received an offer to reprise his role for Top Gun 2. Kilmer recently suffered through several health issues, but it appears that he is well on his way to recovery. What better way to return to the big screen than to bring Maverick and Iceman together again?
Hollywood Bringing Back The Old Franchises
Cruise's confirmation of Top Gun 2 continues a rising trend in Hollywood of reviving franchises from the decades ago.
The critically acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road, released in 2015, was an Academy Award-winning masterpiece that was based on the post-apocalyptic Mad Max franchise that started in 1979. The original film starred Mel Gibson, but the latest installment featured Tom Hardy as Mad Max and Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa.
Ghostbusters received the same treatment when the franchise that started in 1984 was rebooted in 2016 with an all-female cast. The decision was first met with disdain, but the movie proved doubters wrong when it was released.
