Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 American action drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski. It is the sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun and the second installment in the Top Gun film series. Written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie, the film is based on stories by Peter Craig and Justin Marks. It stars Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer reprising their roles from the original film, alongside Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, and Ed Harris. In the film, Maverick confronts 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 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. The film 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. An initial release date was scheduled for July 12, 2019, but it was delayed several times due to the complex action sequences and the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, several streaming companies attempted to buy the streaming rights to the film from Paramount, but all offers were declined on the orders of Cruise, who insisted the film be released exclusively in cinemas.
Top Gun: Maverick premiered at CinemaCon on April 28, 2022, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on May 27, 2022, in IMAX, 4DX, ScreenX, and Dolby Cinema. The film was widely praised by critics, with many citing the aviation sequences as the standout element, and deeming it superior to its predecessor. It has grossed over $1.485 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2022, the second film released during the COVID-19 pandemic to gross $1 billion, and the highest-grossing film of Cruise's career.
Credits:
Director
Joseph Kosinski
Writers
Jim Cash(based on characters created by), Jack Epps Jr.(based on characters created by) and Peter Craig(story by)
Stars
Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm and Val Kilmer
