Top Gun: Maverick's biggest challenge is derived from the fact that Top Gun was released 36 years ago rather than Top Gun 2's numerous, heavily publicized delays. Tony Scott's rip-roaring tale of brash Naval Aviators first hit theaters in 1986, with Top Gun becoming a monster hit and launching Tom Cruise's career. Cruise would go on to star in numerous action movies off the back of Top Gun's success, with his long-running role of Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible series just one such example.
With nostalgia being a component sprinkled into many franchises across contemporary culture, Top Gun 2 is the definition of a legacy sequel. In Maverick, Cruise returns as hotshot Naval Aviator Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, tasked with training new young recruits into the now-famed Top Gun program. Furthermore, one of his trainees, "Rooster" (Miles Teller), is the son of Maverick's deceased friend Goose (Anthony Edwards) - adding an extra wrinkle to Maverick's nostalgia-driven appeal.
After many delays (most of them relating to the COVID-19 pandemic), Maverick is set to finally arrive in theaters on May 27, 2022. A new trailer also recently debuted, giving viewers a look at the movie's extensive stunt work and action scenes while still keeping Val Kilmer's Iceman hidden. While such frequent delays would usually be a big cause for concern, Maverick arriving 36 years after its predecessor is a much greater box office battle for the long-awaiting sequel to win. With that being said, Maverick's prospects are far better than such circumstances would usually suggest due to several factors.
Why Top Gun: Maverick Took 36 Years To Happen
Development on Top Gun: Maverick began in 2010, which constituted an already a sizeable 24-year gap from its predecessor. Maverick went through numerous iterations and screenwriters, which effectively put the movie in development hell. Cruise's busy schedule also likely contributed to the long development process, particularly with Cruise's action-packed Mission: Impossible franchise steadily growing in popularity at the time.
As a result, Top Gun 2 didn't really start to pick up momentum until 2017, and even then, the film's first delay kicked in as it entered early filming in 2018. Originally scheduled for a July 12th, 2019 release, Maverick was pushed back to June 26th of the following year. This was reportedly with the aim of fine-tuning the movie's expansive aerial stunts and dogfights, and, as part of Cruise's commitment to authentic stunts (a-la Mission Impossible) and action sequences, this is hardly a surprise. Once the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Maverick was delayed another five times before finally settling into its May 27, 2022 release frame.
Top Gun: Maverick Has Already Shown Its Delays Aren't A Problem
Tom Cruise's involvement in Top Gun: Maverick by itself ensures that the film's airborne scenes will almost certainly be on par with Tony Scott's original movie. Still, even by Cruise's usual standards, Maverick is going above and beyond in bringing these scenes to life, with the movie reportedly involving no CGI in its flight sequences. As a licensed pilot, Cruise insisted that Maverick's flight sequences be genuine, which called upon the supporting cast to undergo significant training and preparation. As a result, Maverick appears the real deal in every sense, with the sequel's marketing selling Top Gun: Maverick's genuine stunts at every turn.
In this way, Top Gun 2's trailers have done an excellent job in showcasing the movie's aerial action scenes as some of the most ambitious ever put to film. In its teaser trailers alone, Maverick's soaring fighter jets almost penetrate through the screen, while the trailers' camerawork also takes viewers into the center of the flying crafts, putting them into the best POV positions possible to fully soak in Maverick's famous need for speed. Even with its delays, these trailers have subsequently sold Maverick just as well as if the pandemic had never stood in the movie's way.
Top Gun: Maverick's Biggest Challenge Is Its Time Gap From The Original
Top Gun was very much a product of the '80s, and it's easy to forget today just how much of a phenomenon it was in 1986. Aside from being the biggest movie of the year, Top Gun also had a real-world impact on Navy recruitment, with enlisting Naval Aviators spiking after its release. The question is how much any of that will matter to modern audiences, a sizeable percentage of whom weren't even alive during its predecessor's run.
Older viewers are far more likely to have this kind of attachment to Top Gun and Cruise's role as Maverick, while younger audiences associate Cruise far more closely with Ethan Hunt. However, while Cruise's track record at the box office is indisputably strong, 2017's The Mummy and the subsequent death of Universal's Dark Universe shows that it's also not bulletproof. Although Top Gun would have the same second life on home media and cable airings as any other big hit, its legacy lies in the warm feelings of nostalgia it seeks to engender. The challenge for Top Gun 2, therefore, is in investing modern-day audiences in a role that Cruise hasn't portrayed in nearly four decades. With all of that being said, the most recent trailer shows that the odds are still very much in Maverick's favor.
Why Top Gun 2 Will Likely Overcome Its Time Gap Challenge
Maverick's marketing is sprinkled with callbacks to his friendship with Goose, which causes friction between Top Gun's Maverick and Rooster, as well as Val Kilmer's iconic Iceman. Even still, the movie doesn't seem to be wholly reliant on them as a selling point. Paramount's trailers have sold Maverick the character in a very unintimidating way to those less familiar with the original Top Gun as a fearless, thrill-seeking pilot and trainer of newcomers. As far as essential information for Top Gun to Maverick, the sequel is keeping it simple in how it's selling new audiences on Cruise's protagonist.
Aside from that, the aforementioned fighter jet flight sequences glimpsed in the trailers are breathtaking even when truncated for a trailer format. Whatever else might be in store in Top Gun 2, Cruise and Paramount know they're selling a summer blockbuster. Delays and all, the Top Gun: Maverick trailers have gotten that job done in a deliberate, action-focused way. While less Top Gun enamored audiences may yet need additional convincing, Maverick has been nothing if not aggressive in selling itself to them.
For a sequel to what was once a standalone movie to arrive after a 36-year time span, Maverick, like the man himself, is quite daring. With nothing in the interim years to keep enthusiasm for the franchise high, Maverick is subsequently riding more on Cruise's star power and reputation for giving his all to death-defying stunts. While Maverick couldn't afford to be postponed further, connecting with audiences on the level that its predecessor did remains the real test for Maverick. With how much Kosinski's sequel looks to be doubling down on Cruise's penchant for stunts and action, Top Gun: Maverick looks set to overcome the majority of its own self-induced obstacles.
