Top Gun 2has been in development for a very long time, butyesterday we got some real movement on itwithTom Cruisesaying that the film is “definitely happening,” and he hopes to shoot it next year. PerVariety, “This latest project will be set in a world of drone technology and fifth generation fighters and explore the end of an era of dogfighting which made the original film so exhilarating. Other plot details are vague butVal Kilmerhas been on record that he was asked to come back to reprise the role of Iceman opposite Cruise’s Maverick.”
Now Variety reports that Cruise will probably reunite with hisOblivionhelmerJoseph Kosinskifor the movie. Although no offer has been made, “sources say it was Kosinski’s vision for where he saw the sequel going that officially won him the job,” and that an offer is likely imminent.
Cruise has been lining upTop Gun 2to go as soon as he finished filmingMission: Impossible 6, which is currently shooting in London. For Kosinski’s part, he recently wrapped filming the firefighter dramaGranite Mountain, which starsMiles TellerandJosh Brolin, and hits theaters on October 20th.
If the project does come together, it should make for an interesting pairing. Kosinski, as seen from bothTRON: LegacyandOblivion, is fascinated with technology and how it rules our lives, and the plot the newTop Gun 2, by centering on drone warfare, revolves around machines that take lives to save lives (in theory, a place you can send a drone is a place you don’t have to send a soldier). The movie could also serve as a cool retrospective piece for Cruise. Unlike theMission: Impossiblemovies, which have been with us since 1996, there’s only been oneTop Gun, it came out in 1986 when Cruise was in his early 20s. He’s 54 now, and I’m curious to see how Old Maverick compares to the young one
