Top Gun 2 Prepares To Take Flight

A while back I wrote that maybe these days we should keep a closer eye on what Tom Cruise is up to.  Well thirty years later, the word on the street is that they finally might finally make a sequel to ‘Top Gun.’, a real piece of ’80s manly movie lore. The film was a massive blockbuster upon its 1986 release and brought in $357 million, which is a whopping $772 million today when you adjust for inflation. It also went on to catapult Tom Cruise into his status as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, even today, among younger super-hero driven A-listers.

Apparently Tom Cruise met with producer Jerry Bruckheimer to discuss plot details about the potentially forthcoming film. Production for the sequel was originally delayed due to the suicide of original director Tony Scott in 2012. However, it now seems that Paramount thinks it’s time to try its hand again at creating a sequel.  So far a new director hasn’t been named, but the film is set to use a screenplay written by Justin Marks, who is best known for the unfortunate ‘Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li’ as well as the upcoming adaptation of ‘The Jungle Book’.

The original movie told the story of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (portrayed by Tom Cruise) as he enrolls in the United State Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, better known as TOPGUN. Maverick and his reckless attitude go up against other pilots as they work to make it through the rigorous training program and prove that they have what it takes to fly with the best. From what we know, the proposed story behind ‘Top Gun 2’ is that unmanned drones are making pilots obsolete, and Maverick is coming back to show everyone a thing or two about just how obsolete fighter pilots really are.

Even after all these years, ‘Top Gun’ remains an action movie classic three decades after its release and its influence can still be seen everywhere. There have actually been 11 different video games based on the ‘Top Gun’ franchise since 1986, with varying degrees of success.  I mean, not all may not exactly have been running Unreal Engine but there were the classic titles for the original Nintendo as well as several that have been created for the PC and each generation of the PlayStation. Top Gun remains as popular as ever with new casino games being introduced for casual audiences today.

What’s most interesting about the casino game is that it was just released, seemingly as part of a 30th anniversary nod to the original. However, it could also be a hint toward the sequel being in the works, as gaming companies are rather hip to these developments. Whatever the case, this shows that the need for speed is still alive and well around the world. Speaking of, we’re definitely due for yet another ‘Top Gun’ game, and you can bet we’ll get one if the sequel goes through.

There’s still not too much set in stone concerning the sequel and it’s been rumored that Val “Iceman” Kilmer was also offered a role, though he has said that he “jumped the gun” in regard to his comments.  Maybe they’re going to wait ’till Kilmer recovers from his current sickness. There’s no word yet of Kelly McGillis reprising her role as “Charlie.”

Producer David Ellison was discussing the potential of a film while promoting ‘Terminator: Genisys,’ so there’s definitely support behind the making of a sequel to the ’86 classic. Things are still in the early planning phases and the movie is only listed as “in development, so it’ll definitely be a few years before we get to see Tom and Val get on a highway to the danger zone.

Now if only they would appease Eddie Murphy with a decent script for Beverly Hills Cop IV, he has apparently turned down everything Bruckheimer has thrown at him.