Top Gun: Maverick’s endless string of release date delays could be bad news for the long-awaited sequel – but why could this be good for the career of its star, Tom Cruise? Released in 1986, the original Top Gun was an instant hit with audiences, earning millions at the box office while increasing the real-life recruitment rates of the Air Force and Navy in the process.
It is no surprise that Top Gun was an outsized success, as the assured direction of action cinema legend Tony Scott ensured the movie had dramatic high-flying action sequences, a compelling story, and a likable, involving protagonist. Then best-known for the (still underrated) teen sex comedy Risky Business, Tom Cruise was propelled to superstardom by his role as Maverick, the feckless test pilot with a need for speed who learns that he must slow down and appreciate his colleagues before it costs him his life.
Like any cult classic, rumors of a Top Gun sequel circulated for years, and seemed ever more likely as Cruise’s star power increased in the last few decades. Eventually, after thirty-four years in the making, the trailer for Top Gun: Maverick arrived in December 2019 – almost two years before the movie’s eventual, delayed November 2021 release date. A winter release date may be bad news for the delayed Top Gun: Maverick thanks to the movie’s sunny, summery aesthetic, but if the long-awaited sequel does flop, this could ironically be an opportunity for its star. Cruise has moved away from smaller projects to focus on big-budget action outings over the last decade, and another high-profile blockbuster’s failure could tempt him back into the more modest, Rain Man-esque roles he excels in.
With a new November release date added to the movie’s endless list of production troubles, the box office forecast for Top Gun: Maverick no longer looks as positive as it did when the movie’s trailer was first released. However, if Cruise’s long-awaited sequel does flop, this could be just the push that the actor needs to branch back out into more modest productions. There is no denying that Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible franchise looks likely to continue its impressive box office success, but Cruise was still starring in dramatic movies like Jerry Maguire, Eyes Wide Shut, and Lions For Lambs while releasing the first, second, and third Mission Impossible movies respectively, meaning there is no need for him to choose between smaller projects and that high-achieving franchise.
However, especially after the embarrassing failure of The Mummy, Cruise’s decision to limit his screen career to action roles has not recently been doing him any critical favors outside of the Mission Impossible movies. American Made fared well with critics, but it was a lower-budget, more politically-charged outing for the actor, with the more grounded thriller's satirical tone owing more to Born On the Fourth of July and A Few Good Men than it did Edge of Tomorrow or Oblivion. Much like the muted-to-negative receptions of Rock of Ages, Valkyrie, and Lions For Lambs put Cruise off comedy and drama role in the late '00s and early '10s, a bad reception for Top Gun: Maverick may be the push he needs to diversify back into those smaller-scale genres.
