Summary

• Tom Cruise's flying sequences in Top Gun: Maverick add to the excitement of the long-awaited sequel, as he actually flew in the film.
• The movie's ending, where Maverick and Rooster restore and fly a vintage P-51 Mustang, has a special meaning, as Cruise owns the same plane in real life.
• Cruise's dedication to doing his own stunts, both in Top Gun: Maverick and in other movies like the Mission: Impossible series, showcases his commitment to realism and adds to his reputation as a Hollywood movie star.

Top Gun: Maverick's flying sequences are part of what made the long-awaited sequel so exciting and that was further added to by the fact that Tom Cruise did fly in Top Gun 2. The movie follows Maverick training a new group of young pilots which includes Miles Teller as Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, the son of Maverick's deceased best friend Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards). Their tense relationship leads to a touching ending that relates to a plane that Tom Cruise flies in real life as well as in Top Gun 2.

After surviving the mission together and proving the value of actual skilled pilots in the cockpit rather than just drones, Maverick and Goose form a bond that is similar to the one he shared with Goose. In Top Gun: Maverick's ending, Rooster helps restore Maverick's vintage P-51 Mustang, which Maverick then flies Penny (Jennifer Connelly) out in. It's a fitting way to end Top Gun: Maverick, but there is a detail that many would have missed that makes the Tom Cruise P-51 Mustang scene even better.

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Tom Cruise Owns The Top Gun Maverick P-51

The Original Top Gun Inspired Cruise's Love Of Flying

The P-51 Mustang plane that Maverick and Rooster work on in that final scene of Top Gun: Maverick is owned by Tom Cruise in real life. His passion for aviation was sparked while filming the original 1986 Top Gun movie and in 1994, Cruise became a licensed pilot.

The P-51 Mustang used in Top Gun: Maverick was built in 1946 and Cruise has owned the plane, which has an estimated value of $4 million, since 2001. Cruise originally branded the aircraft "Kiss Me Kate" after his ex-wife Katie Holmes, but he has since removed the name from the P-51 following their separation.

Top Gun Maverick's Tom Cruise P-51 Scene Was Real

The P-51 Mustang Is Not The Only Plane Cruise Owns

Although Cruise didn't fly the F-18 while shooting Top Gun: Maverick due to Navy restrictions, he was piloting in the P-51 Mustang during the scene in which Maverick flies with Penny. It's not surprising he was flying the plane, given how well-known Tom Cruise is for doing his own stunts. As well as the P-51 Mustang used in Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise owns two more aircraft.

His most luxurious is the Gulfstream IV jet valued at $20 million, which includes a Jacuzzi and a screening room, but it did not feature in Maverick. Tom Cruise and Captain "Maverick" Mitchell are both thrill-seeking daredevils, and the subtle inclusion of Cruise's own P-51 Mustang in Maverick's ending made the link between the two even deeper.

Why The Navy Wouldn't Let Tom Cruise Fly Maverick's F-18

Cruise Wanted Limited CGI In Top Gun 2

While known for doing most of his own stunts, the P-51 Mustang scene in Top Gun: Maverick highlights how some feats are too dangerous even for him. One of the biggest stipulations the actor had going into Maverick is that CGI would not play a major role in the film. Cruise got his wish, as most of the aerial footage depicted in Maverick is done with real planes. Being the man of ambition that he is, Cruise initially wanted to fly the Boeing F-18 fighter jet that's featured heavily throughout the movie. However, this turned out to be impossible.

Despite being a certified pilot, the U.S. Navy denied Cruise's request to fly the F-18, which itself holds a $70 million price tag. While no definitive answer has been given as to why Cruise couldn't fly the F-18 in Top Gun 2, despite piloting other planes and helicopters in Maverick, it probably has to do with insurance reasons.

The F-18 alone would take up half of Maverick's budget, and insurance for having Cruise in the pilot seat would have meant an even more expensive gambit. Considering how expensive the jet is on its own, it's probably best that the actor wasn't allowed to pilot it on his own. Rather, Navy pilots assisted in filming the F-18 scenes for Top Gun: Maverick.

Paramount Used Tom Cruise's P51 Mustang For The Top Gun 2 Marketing

Cruise's Dedication To The Sequel Was A Big Narrative Surrounding The Movie

It's no secret that Tom Cruise is an aviation enthusiast. The actor has spoken openly about his love of planes and all things flying throughout his career, and it's something he's both known and admired for among Top Gun fans. Paramount was clearly aware of this, as they leaned heavily into the fact that Cruise flew his own P51 Mustang in Top Gun: Maverick when promoting the movie. Of particular note is the featurette Paramount released on YouTube in 2022, simply titled "Tom's P51 Mustang."

The short promotional featurette is summed up perfectly by its title and is multiple interviews with Top Gun: Maverick's cast members and technical professionals from the set. They all recount their experiences working with Cruise flying his P51 Mustang, some interesting facts about the plane itself, featuring great behind-the-scenes footage. Paramount putting this out there as part of the Top Gun 2 marketing both shows how astute the studio is at knowing its target audience, and how integral Cruise is as a personality for the Top Gun franchise beyond his acting talent.

Tom Cruise Isn't The Only Famous Plane Enthusiast

Various Actors, Filmmakers And Musicians All Have Their Own Planes For Travel

Tom Cruise's P-51 Mustang and collection of other planes is impressive, but he's not the only celebrity who's made a hobby out of owning a plane. A long list of celebrities also owns their own jets for their personal travel needs. The most common jets owned by celebrities are the Gulfstream G650, Dassault Falcon, and the Bombardier, with each jet costing over $50 million and then some.

Mark Wahlberg (The Departed) owns a Bombardier BD-700, with which he takes frequent trips overseas, and across the U.S. Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones) himself owns a Cessna 680 Citation that jets him quickly all over the U.S. Steven Spielberg has a Gulfstream G-650, visiting various locations overseas. Star Wars creator George Lucas also owns a Gulfstream, with which he flies overseas relatively frequently.

Movie stars aren't the only celebrities who own their own aircraft, as plenty of famous singers also like to travel in style as well. Country superstar Blake Shelton purchased a Gulfstream 4 and takes summer trips across the U.S. Country musician Kenny Chesney also owns a jet, a Dassault Falcon 900 to be exact, and also tours the U.S. Jay-Z owns a Gulfstream 5, taking frequent trips all over. Finally, Taylor Swift herself is the proud owner of a Dassault Falcon 7X, which she uses to travel the globe.

Top Gun Wasn't The Only Movie Where Tom Cruise Actually Flew

The Mission: Impossible Movies Best Showcase Cruise's Commitment To Stunts

The P-51 stunts in Top Gun: Maverick were certainly impressive and such stunts have become typical for Tom Cruise's movie roles as of late. His commitment to realism has been a common theme in Cruise's career and Top Gun: Maverick isn't the only time he has piloted an aircraft on camera. For Mission: Impossible - Fallout, rather than relying on CGI or stunt doubles, Cruise took helicopter flying lessons so that he could perform the movie's biggest action sequence.

Cruise's Mission: Impossible stunts have become the stuff of legends, including his much-talked-about motorcycle jump in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1. However, the skill and training involved in learning to not only fly a helicopter but also pull off the stunts required in that sequence is especially impressive. It is yet another reason Cruise has earned a reputation as one of the last movie stars in Hollywood as he is willing to put everything he has into his roles, from Mission: Impossible to Top Gun: Maverick.

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  Top Gun: Maverick

  Summary:

  Top Gun: Maverick is the long anticipated sequel to the original Top Gun, setting Tom Cruise back into the pilot suit of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Having served for thirty years as one of the top aviators in the Navy, Maverick continues his calling as a test pilot and dodges the attempted efforts of the higher-ups to promote him to a less active role. Soon he finds himself training a group of TOP GUN graduates for a unique mission - one of those recruits is a young man named Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller), who happens to be the son of his late friend Nick Bradshaw, aka Goose. Now Maverick and his new trainees will face off with ghosts from his own past as they embark on the most dangerous mission they've ever flown. 

  Release Date:

  2022-05-27

  Cast:

  Jennifer Connelly, Jake Picking, Raymond Lee, Tom Cruise, Lewis Pullman, Monica Barbaro, Miles Teller, Danny Ramirez, Val Kilmer, Manny Jacinto, Ed Harris, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm

  Cinematographer:

  Claudio Miranda

  Director:

  Joseph Kosinski

  Distributor :

  Paramount Pictures

  Genres:

  Action

  Producer:

  Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, Don Granger, Dana Goldberg, Tom Cruise

  Production Company:

  Skydance Media, Tencent Pictures, TC Productions, Jerry Bruckheimer Films

  Writers:

  Ashley Miller, Justin Marks, Peter Craig, Zack Stentz

  Main Genre:

  Action

  Rating:

  PG-13

  Runtime:

  130 minutes

  Website:

  https://www.topgunmovie.com/home/

  Franchise:

  Top Gun

  Main Characters :

  Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Penelope "Penny" Benjamin, Beau "Cyclone" Simpson, Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Robert "Bob" Floyd, Chester "Hammer" Cain

  Sfx Supervisor:

  Scott R. Fisher

  Assistant Director :

  Scott Robertson

  prequel(s):

  Top Gun

  Franchise(s):

  Top Gun