Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 American action drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski and written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie, from a story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks. In this sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun, Tom Cruise reprises his starring role as the naval aviator Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. The ensemble cast also features Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer (in his final film role). The story involves Maverick confronting his past while training a group of younger Top Gun graduates, including the son of his deceased best friend, for a dangerous mission. Development of a Top Gun sequel was announced in 2010 by Paramount Pictures. Cruise, along with co-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott, were asked to return. Craig wrote a draft of the screenplay in 2012, but the project stalled when Scott died later that year. Top Gun: Maverick was later dedicated to Scott's memory. Production resumed in 2017, after Kosinski was hired to direct. Principal photography, which involved the use of IMAX-certified 6K full-frame cameras, took place from May 2018 to April 2019 in California, Washington and Maryland. It was initially scheduled to be released July 12, 2019, but it was delayed several times due to its complex action sequences and later the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, several streaming companies attempted to purchase the streaming rights to the film from Paramount, but all offers were declined on the orders of Cruise, who insisted that it should be released exclusively in theaters. Top Gun: Maverick premiered at CinemaCon on April 28, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 27. The film was widely praised by critics, with many deeming it superior to its predecessor. It was named one of the top-ten films of 2022 by the American Film Institute and nominated for six awards at the 95th Academy Awards (including Best Picture), winning Best Sound. Top Gun: Maverick grossed $1.496 billion worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2022 and the highest-grossing film of Cruise's career. A sequel is in development.