A sequel to Top Gun, the iconic 1986 “romantic military action drama” which happens to be the highest-grossing film of all time to be set in the LGBTQ aviation community, has been teased by producers for nearly a decade, but Maverick himself confirmed its imminence on an Australian news show Wednesday morning.
“It’s true,” Cruise said. “I’m going to start filming it probably in the next year... It’s happening. It is definitely happening.”
Though no plot details have been revealed, I think it’s safe to say the sequel will pick up some 30 years after the events of the last film. Maverick (Cruise) and Iceman (Val Kilmer)—now living in relative peace in a cabin on an island in Puget Sound, where they spend their days fishing, reading, and enjoying the comfort and security that comes from perpetual closeness—are called to receive special achievement awards at the TOPGUN school in San Diego. Rather than fly down (neither of them have ever enjoyed traveling in planes they’re not piloting), they two decide to make a road trip out of it. After some convincing, their old friend Charlie (Kelly McGillis) agrees to join them on the drive, and she brings along her new lover (Cara Delevingne).
What should have been a two-day drive (three, at the most) becomes a week of missed turns, miscommunication, and misadventure. Will they enjoy reminiscing about the past, or will it bring up too many long-hidden skeletons? Will a hitchhiker named Todd (Colton Haynes) come between Iceman and Maverick, or will his dopey charm and unexpected wisdom do nothing but strengthen their love? Will they find away to play Iceman’s cassette tape of “Take My Breath Away,” or will one of them have to figure out how to work Spotify?
Find out in the next couple years, probably.