Top Gun: Maverick - What We Know So Far

It was back in 1986 that "Top Gun" took our collective breath away, with gravity-defying aerial stunts that involved real fighter jets, plus cool uniforms, a steamy illicit love story, and a tragic true bromance. The movie won a People's Choice Award in 1987 for Favorite Motion Picture, and maintains its place on various "Best of the '80s" lists. Despite its cheesy undertones, it has penetrated pop culture with lines like, "I feel the need — the need for speed," to the extent that in 2015, it was one of 25 "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant films chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry. 

Accelerate ahead 30-something years, and we're strapping ourselves in for the long-awaited followup, "Top Gun: Maverick." The trailer dropped at Comic-Con on July 18th 2019, when Maverick himself — better known IRL as Tom Cruise  — dropped by a panel for "Terminator: Dark Fate" to announce the film. Here's everything we've learned about who else is involved, the story they'll be telling, and when we can expect to take our seats for the second "Top Gun." Oh, and did you know there are already some scandals brewing? Here's the scoop.

Just as Cruise continued to remain tight-lipped about the film in its early days, the trailer was so secret that it wasn't even announced in advance. Instead, as we mentioned up, er, top, Cruise released it to a surprised Comic-Con audience, who had gathered for a panel about the new "Terminator" movie, "Dark Fate."

Unsurprisingly, the trailer doesn't reveal too much. It focuses on Cruise's Maverick, aka Pete Mitchell. In the first film, Mitchell was famous for being brilliant and brave but difficult to control — hence his call sign. A voiceover from Ed Harris' character implies that 30 years on he's pretty much the same, earning combat medals and honors along with citations, as Harris puts it. Most telling, however, is that Maverick is still 'only' a captain — just three ranks higher than when we last encountered him. Not to dismiss Naval Air Force captains, but as Harris says, "You should be at least a two-star admiral by now. Yet here you are. Captain. Why is that?" 

The majority of the trailer is based around a scene of Maverick firing up a jet, interspersed with shots of his interaction with Harris' character. However, there are a few callbacks to the original, through his trademark flight jacket and aviators — plus but we do briefly meet the next generation of pilots. Like all good trailers, it's enough to get your attention, without giving anything away.

Since wrapping up his star-making turn as hard-drinking ad man Don Draper in AMC's "Mad Men" in 2015, Jon Hamm has traded brooding in the boardroom for guns and glory in thrill-heavy movies. See 2017's "Baby Driver" or 2018's "Beirut" and "Bad Times at the El Royale" for examples of just how well the man can pull off the action hero (or villain) role. 

"Top Gun: Maverick" seems like another good move. In an interview with GQ, he gave a bit of a tease about his character Vice Admiral Cyclone, saying, "Yeah. I play the boss, the guy who's shaking his finger and telling Tom Cruise that he's writing checks his body can't cash. It's exciting." Cyclone and Maverick's one-on-one in the trailer also suggests some snarkiness between the two, with the former seeming rather unimpressed with the Captain.

Hamm is as excited for the movie as the rest of us. He told People that he's managed to get a sneaky glimpse at some of the footage, revealing that it was shot in what he thinks is 6K definition. "I think it's gonna be, for the people who love the first movie, I think it's gonna be very interesting to watch," he added. "But I think for the new fans it's gonna be something very cool, too. I've seen some of the footage, it is out of this world." We're on board.

Jennifer Connelly's role in the film was confirmed in July 2018, a month before Hamm and Harris — her co-star from "A Beautiful Mind." She's also worked with director Joseph Kosinski before, on 2017's "Only the Brave."

At Comic-Con in 2019, Connelly said of filming, "All of it was surreal." She added, "It was so exciting for me to be part of it, I had an amazing time shooting it. It exceeded my expectations, working on the film, and seeing the footage that I've seen so far, it's pretty extraordinary ... It's been a really wonderful experience for me." She also praised Cruise: "He was great, you know, he's extraordinary ... I thought he was kind of extra everything." Although Paramount hasn't revealed exactly who she'll be playing, Variety reported that she's expected to be a single mom running a bar near the base. 

We also know that Connelly spent a significant amount of time on the back of Maverick's motorbike, which heavily suggests that her character could be the pilot's new love interest. If you're wondering what happened to Maverick's previous flame, flight instructor Charlie Blackwood, you're not the only one. Kelly McGillis, who played Charlie, told Entertainment Tonight that she hasn't been contacted by anyone from the new film.

Alongside Cruise, the only other "Top Gun" actor we know is returning for the sequel is Val Kilmer, who played Maverick's frenemy and would-be wingman Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. But brace yourself: there's already a fan theory based on the trailer that argues that Iceman is going to die. We see Maverick attending a funeral, which suggests that at some point someone is going down. The fact that Kilmer's character failed to appear in the trailer implies to some malevolent minds that it's Iceman in the coffin.

Regardless of his character's fate, it's good to see Kilmer back on screen. The actor has been largely out of the public eye recently, after spending two years between 2015 and 2017 battling throat cancer, with an operation on his trachea affecting his voice and leaving him short of breath. However, he's excited for "Top Gun: Maverick," telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2019, "It will be a great film, I promise. This time around had me laughing with Tom like a high schooler. He's so funny. I hope he's saved the world enough to take a decade and re-establish himself as a great comedian as he has it in him."

HBO fans may recognize Jay Ellis as clueless love interest/tech bro Lawrence on "Insecure." But "Top Gun: Maverick" is slightly closer to his roots, since Ellis grew up in a military family. However, as he made clear to Jimmy Kimmel in 2018, his family were Air Force, not Navy like the fighter pilots in the film. "My dad was in the Air Force. My grandfather was in the Air Force. Mechanics," he explained. "[My dad] was very disappointed. I called him and I said, 'Hey, I booked Top Gun,' and he goes, 'Oh, man. That's the Navy, right?'"

Ellis, who appears to be playing a young recruit, also gushed over working with Tom Cruise. "He has this ability to look you in the eye and make you feel like you're the prettiest girl in the room," he told Kimmel. "Nicest, most genuine, giving, open guy — I've never worked with anyone who's like, 'Listen, if you need anything, truly pick up the phone and call, I'm going to show you every single thing I know.' It's really amazing." A few months later, he echoed Hamm and Connelly's predictions for the audiences' reactions, telling "Entertainment Tonight" (via The Daily Pioneer), "I'm going to tell you right now, we are literally going to blow people's minds."

As with every Tom Cruise movie these days, details on the plot of "Top Gun: Maverick" are being held close to the vest. At Comic-Con, Cruise limited his comments, saying simply that "'Top Gun' is about family, about sacrifice, and it's about aviation." Which, frankly, we could have guessed. However, we have got a few tidbits to work with. 

First of all, there's a strong implication that Maverick's persistent daredevil antics are putting him behind the times. In the trailer, Harris' rear admiral tells him, "The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction." Further reports suggest that the plot revolves around the captain's role as a mentor to the new recruits, as he tries to come to terms with technical advances like drones that could make skill sets and attitudes like his obsolete. Additionally, per the film's official synopsis, "Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it." Yikes.

However, before you worry that we're going to see people with remote controls instead of cockpit controls, director Joseph Kosinski has already quashed rumors that drones will play a big role. In 2017, he said, "Personally, I would never want to see a movie about drones. For me 'Top Gun' has always been about fighter planes. It's been about fighter pilots." And Maverick himself is in denial, responding to Harris' warning: "Maybe so, sir. But not today."

After months of keeping all things "Top Gun 2" top secret, in January 2020 director Joseph Kosinski teased more of the plot, shared some photos, and confirmed the new pilots' names. In addition to Teller's Rooster, Barbaro's Phoenix, and Ramirez's Fanboy, Powell's character's call sign is Hangman, Ellis is playing Payback, and Lewis Pullman is, er, BOB. (You may recognize Pullman as Jon Hamm's "Bad Times at the El Royale" co-star.) The director told Entertainment Weekly that this batch of young pilots have already graduated from Top Gun, and are returning to school for "a special training detachment." They're at a higher level than the students in the first film, which means more impressive maneuvers for the audience, and truly terrifying training for the actors.

Kosinski revealed that Cruise himself designed an aerial training course to prepare them. When they were ready, the team rigged six IMAX-quality cameras in the cockpit of each actor's F-18 Super Hornet to capture them as they pretended to fly the plane (a job that was actually left to a Navy pilot.) As Cruise found on the first film, being tossed around like this takes a physical toll: Kosinski admitted that some of the actors occasionally threw up. 

Away from the action, he offered one other insight into the movie's story: Rooster and Maverick's relationship is the film's "emotional core." Fly all the planes you want, but no amount of preparation will get you ready to relive the emotional swings of Maverick and Goose.

Let's talk about this jacket controversy. Maverick's classic fur-collared leather aviator jacket became an icon in its own right after the first movie, so you'd think fans would be pleased to see an old friend returning for the trailer. However, the jacket's appearance caused a stir among eagle-eyed viewers, thanks to the patches on the back. 

In the original "Top Gun," the patch on the back left shoulder bears four rectangles, including the Taiwanese flag (top right) and the Japanese flag (bottom left). In the trailer for "Top Gun: Maverick," when Maverick puts on the jacket, these flags have been replaced with two similar-looking designs in the same color schemes. 

So what's the big deal? Well, some fans suggested that this was a political decision and not a costuming one. "Top Gun: Maverick" is partly funded by Chinese internet company Tencent. And since China has a tense history with Japan and Taiwan, it may be that they weren't too keen on seeing a portrayal of an alliance between those two countries and the U.S. Navy.

However, at least one former naval pilot, Ward Carroll, dismissed the suggestion, pointing out that the "Top Gun" patches are notoriously haphazard, meaning that this latest alteration is also, well, meaningless. But conspiracy theorists can still dream.

Getting to the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy is nothing to sniff at. As Cruise himself pointed out, "We're working with the Navy — incredible pilots, the greatest fighter pilots in the world." And yet, the fact that over 30 years into a distinguished service, Maverick is still not at a higher rank is not just a question that's troubling Ed Harris's rear admiral — it's something IRL naval officers have wondered too. Luckily, one stepped in to answer. 

According to Navy Personnel Command, there are three reasons why Maverick could still be a captain. The first (and least likely) is that he started out as an enlisted, and thus not in the officer branch that leads to the higher ranks. However, the first movie dispels this, since he was a lieutenant in 1986. He could also technically have retired but been retained — something that rarely happens, and which runs counter to Harris' character's statement that Maverick won't retire. Or, he could have taken some time out, perhaps after Goose's death — a break in service could mean forfeiting promotion. 

Alternatively, it could just be that he really likes the hands-on job of flying planes more than he wants to be a well-paid manager. We may get our answer when the movie comes out — or it could remain, as Maverick tells Harris, "one of life's mysteries."