With all of the challenges facing the production of Top Gun: Maverick, its biggest creative hindrance may have been the reintroduction of the main character's aviator jacket. Top Gun was one of the most successful pure action blockbusters of the '80s, despite mixed critical reactions, and it helped propel star Tom Cruise as a prominent genre lead. Nearly 30 years in the making, the sequel is far more massive, possessing ten times the budget and stitched together from over 800 hours of footage to outdo the original's stunning aerial combat sequences.
The long-awaited sequel will feature the heroic return of Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, instructing a new class of TOPGUN trainees that will engage in a special mission under Maverick's former rival, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer). Based on trailers and other promotional materials, the film's flying scenes are sure to be a spectacle, even if they did contribute to the enormous amount of footage. Actors had to learn in-flight camera configuration on the spot for many of those shots, and outside of the cockpit, they had to go through a Tom Cruise boot camp to prepare for the film. But despite the technical and physical challenges, perhaps the trickiest element to find a resolution for was Maverick's jacket.
In an Empire exclusive, writer Christopher McQuarrie explains that one of the most frustrating creative hurdles while penning Top Gun: Maverick involved possibly reintroducing the protagonist's patch-laden aviator jacket from the original film. However, neither McQuarrie nor Cruise wanted to bring the jacket back. McQuarrie was surprised when that idea proved controversial, saying, "The jacket was a huge deal to a lot of people. Everybody was saying, 'It's a big part of who Maverick is!' I thought, ‘I could barely describe the jacket to you.’ It’s not Indiana Jones’ hat. It’s not Superman’s cape. It’s an aviator jacket.” Cruise agreed, adding, "I was like, 'This is ridiculous. I'm not going to wear this!'," and admitted to not knowing how to handle having the jacket in the sequel.
New images of Tom Cruise from the set of Top Gun: Maverick indicate that the character's identifying outerwear is mostly, though not entirely, missing. That's because McQuarrie and Cruise eventually found the solution to their jacket problem. Cruise explained, "We finally figured out how to put it in. It’s a lucky jacket." McQuarrie added, "Now, we have him open a closet and go into the back and pull the thing out and wear it for a special occasion...Maverick is still Maverick, but he's not stuck in the past." This realization is a welcome sign that Top Gun: Maverick won't entirely rely on '80s nostalgia to push for ticket sales and positive reactions and that there is more to Pete Mitchell in this film than meets the eye.
After all, people undoubtedly change after some three-odd decades, and not forcing Maverick into his aviator jacket for the entire movie is a suitable illustration of that change. Regardless of the reportedly "epic" score, signs suggest that Top Gun: Maverick is a darker film than its predecessor tonally, especially surrounding the generational conflict between Maverick and his late best friend's son, Rooster (Miles Teller). Given that adjustment and Maverick's maturity, McQuarrie's struggle with the colorful jacket makes sense. But fans inevitably like having some satisfaction in the form of callbacks when it comes to sequels, so McQuarrie and Cruise may have found the perfect middle ground.
Source: Empire
