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Top Gun 2: The Training Tom Cruise Put His Co-Stars Through Sounds Insane
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that Tom Cruise put his co-stars through intense training for their roles in Top Gun: Maverick. The highly anticipated sequel was intended to hit theaters in June 2020, before being delayed six months due to the coronavirus. The film is now set for a December 2o20 release, over thirty years after the original movie. Top Gun penetrated the zeitgeist like few other films have, becoming a cult classic and cementing itself as a pop culture phenomenon.
Top Gun followed the story of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played by Cruise, who was a cocky pilot at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school and competed to be the very best in his class. However, during his education, he learns far more outside of the classroom. The film starred Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, Tim Robbins, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, and Val Kilmer, who will be returning as his character "Iceman" for Top Gun: Maverick. The sequel reunites audiences with Maverick as he continues to push the boundaries as a test pilot, dodging a promotion in rank that would ground him. The cast includes Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Jon Hamm, Jake Picking, Jay Ellis, Glen Powell, and Miles Teller, who will be playing the son of Goose.
In an interview with Yahoo!, producer Jerry Bruckheimer talked about Cruise's training process with his fellow co-stars for Top Gun: Maverick. When talking about the cast's training process for the film, Bruckheimer states, "He put the actors through this grueling process over three months so they could take the G-forces when we put them in the F/A-18s.” He goes on to say, "It was really a tough slog for these young actors because they also had to go through water survival training, where they are blindfolded and put in a water tank that’s turned upside down and they have to figure out how to get out. And Tom went through all the same stuff! They told me he went through that training just like a 22-year-old would — that's how good he is.”
Top Gun: Maverick's action scenes will all be practical, using no CGI during the film's jet fighter sequences. Director Joseph Kosinski and Cruise, who previously worked together on the sci-fi film Oblivion, stressed that they wanted the action to look real, shooting the action sequences with "never before seen" technology. In another effort to ratchet up the hype for the sequel, Cruise claimed no movie would be made like Top Gun: Maverick again.
Though the wait for the sequel has been agonizing, especially with its six-month delay, the behind the scenes information that has been uncovered for the film should only build more excitement. Cruise is no stranger to dangerous and jaw-dropping stunts, pushing the envelope considerably in his most recent Mission: Impossible films. The fact he put the cast through vigorous training should come as no surprise, only further showcasing his passion and dedication for the project that he wishes for his co-stars to share with him. Though fans have been waiting over thirty years for this sequel, the follow-up will no doubt be worth the wait when Top Gun: Maverick soars into theaters this holiday season.
Top Gun: Maverick/Top Gun 2 (2020)
Release Date: Dec 23, 2020
