It seems that I write about Tom Cruise on a daily basis. I see some people in the comments page ask if I’m being serious, or just sarcastic when I talk about “The Cruiser.”

Well to be honest, it’s a bit of both.

I feel that Cruise is a great movie star, but he has made some bad PR choices in the last couple of years. He’s not a bad actor, it’s just that tabloid journalism has gotten a bit crazy. No – strike that, tabloid journalism has gotten really, really crazy and they will pretty much hammer anyone in the public eye.

Poor Tom played right into their hands, and as a result his career has taken a bit of a hit. However, he hasn’t really had an all out bomb – Lions for Lambs was a co-starring role akin to his Magnolia role, and even MI:III earned good bank.

Which brings me to news of a possible Top Gun sequel.

Is it just a crazy rumor on a slow news day?

Well, it might be odd that Cruise would reunite with Paramount after Sumner Redstone took the hump over his Mission Impossible 3 marketing strategy. Although the pair were recently seen dining together, previous rumors were that another Mission: Impossible movie was in the pipeline, but could it be a Top Gun follow-up?

Well… Paramount had a good year bringing back Indiana Jones, and they do have Axel Foley on the way with Beverly Hills Cop 4, so the return of “Maverick” may not be out of the question.

The very unreliable Sun newspaper here in the UK says:

“The idea is Maverick is at the Top Gun school as an instructor — and this time it is he who has to deal with a cocky new female pilot.”

Did somebody say Katie Holmes?

Now it is very possible that this is legit, as it sounds like a very plausible storyline for another Top Gun. The website also says that only a script outline has been written and the studio is waiting on an answer from Cruise.

Again this sounds like it could be true, and if Cruise doesn’t say yes and the story has an iota of truth, then don’t be too surprised when something like Top Gun 2: The Need for Speed hits a video store near you.

I don’t think that a Top Gun 2 is such a bad idea (a lot worse films have been sequelized recently), and if Cruise is onboard then I’m cool with that. However, if a sequel does go ahead with Cruise I’d like to see Val Kilmer return as Iceman – in a co-starring role and not a naff cameo!

Then, and only then would the film be worthy of the original.

I’ll keep you posted on this story, either debunking it, or keeping you up to date with any progress. Although I’d bet that it’s the former.

Source: The Sun

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