Warning: Spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick!

Top Gun: Maverick uses the song “Danger Zone” much less than the original Top Gun, and this has to do with the different themes the two movies follow. Top Gun: Maverick debuted to widespread praise and tremendous box office success over Memorial Day weekend, with many praising it as the perfect template for a legacy sequel. In that respect, Top Gun 2 is also sharply aware of how best to use its nostalgic elements.

In Top Gun, Maverick was a young pilot who seemingly knew no fear. The death of his good friend Goose (Anthony Edwards) left Maverick shaken and mourning, but he never lost his innate love of adventure. With a time gap of 36 years, Top Gun 2 shows its titular pilot at a point in his life where he’s much more aware of the concept of mortality. To be sure, that’s hardly made Maverick anymore unwilling to partake in aerial stunts, but his high-risk mission and the throat cancer of Iceman (Val Kilmer) humble him.

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Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” has remained synonymous with Top Gun and Maverick himself since the film’s release in 1986. The opening scene of Top Gun: Maverick recreates that of Top Gun, right down to the use of “Danger Zone” on the soundtrack. This is the only time the song is heard in the Top Gun sequel, and this is because the two films tell very different stories with Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise). With Maverick moving into a mentor role for his young Top Gun recruits in the film, the movie places more emphasis on Maverick struggling with having his well-known confidence being tested.  While Maverick might’ve flown head first into any challenge in Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick shows him with a greater concern to prepare his troops before taking them into their mission.

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Because of Maverick’s newfound uncertainties that Iceman's largely wordless pep talk helps him to work through, “Danger Zone” would not function in the same way as it would in the original Top Gun. Maverick’s leading his troops, including Goose’s son Rooster (Miles Teller), into a situation they might not come home from, and he appreciates the gravity of that far more than he would have during his own Top Gun days. “Danger Zone” acts as more of a nostalgic jumpstart in Maverick, reminding audiences of Maverick’s origins before showing them that he’s a somewhat changed man.

Maverick is still a thrill seeker in Top Gun: Maverick, but his experiences have given him a greater respect for the inherent risks that come with his lifestyle. The original Top Gun gave more prominence to “Danger Zone” because Maverick was still young with much to learn. In Top Gun: Maverick, the song’s singular use sets up Tom Cruise's new Maverick, a legendary pilot who still thrills to breaking the rules and pushing the envelope but who also understands that the danger zone’s highway does come with traffic laws.

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