After having previously confirmed that the sequel to 1986's cult classic film, "Top Gun," was indeed happening, Paramount Pictures has now revealed some new details about the upcoming movie, which includes its much-anticipated release date. After over 33 years of waiting fans of the original movie can now finally mark their calendars as the sequel has been revealed to hit theaters on July 12, 2019.
Maverick's return
Tom Cruise, who starred in the original film as LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, has already been confirmed to reprise his role in the upcoming film.
The 55-year old actor will be working together with "Tron Legacy" director Joseph Kosinski for the new movie. Cruise and the director already have a working relationship since they had previously worked together in the 2013 movie, "Oblivion."
Back in June, Cruise also revealed in an interview with Access Hollywood the official title for the upcoming sequel. Instead of "Top Gun 2," Cruise and the team apparently didn't want the title to have any numbers, which is why they had decided to call the sequel "Top Gun: Maverick."
Sequel's plot and theme
While the movie is still about two years away from being released, a rough plotline for the film has already been published. The movie will apparently be bringing the franchise into the 21st century with the inclusion of drones, advanced technology, aircraft carriers, and the United States Navy's fifth generation fighter jets.
The movie itself will still center around Cruise's character, who is now an older fighter pilot veteran teaching budding aces. Another big part of the sequel will be how it will be exploring the "end of an era" for fighter pilots as they are slowly being replaced with unmanned vehicles and full automation in the modern war zone.
A long time coming
A sequel to the 1986 classic has been in the works since 2010. However, production for the sequel halted to a standstill following the death of the original movie's director Tony Scott in August of 2012. Talks about the sequel reemerged in 2015 when Skydance Production's CEO David Ellison expressed his interest in producing a sequel.
In May of this year, Cruise finally revealed during a promotional tour for his movie, "The Mummy," that the sequel was going to start filming sometime in 2018.
Despite the somewhat serious atmosphere of the upcoming sequel's plotline, Cruise had promised fans that there will still be a lot of big and fast flying machines and that the feeling of competition, which was prominent in the original movie, will be back.
