TV - Movies
This Dark Top Gun:
Maverick Theory
Actually Makes A
Lot Of Sense
By JASON CONNOLLY
36 years after the events of "Top Gun" Maverick is reassigned to the TOPGUN program as an instructor. All told, the film's opening provides us with an easy, clear-cut reason for why Maverick would return to TOPGUN all these years later — though there is one theory floating around the Internet that takes a much darker view on Maverick's "reassignment."
The theory in question originates from Vulture writer Alison Willmore and purports that everything we see after the beginning of the film is actually just a dream he has as he’s dying. According to Wilmore, Maverick dies aboard the hypersonic jet in the opening, which is torn to pieces when the reckless pilot attempts to reach speeds beyond Mach 10.
Admittedly, it's hard to believe that anyone could survive an explosion of that magnitude, yet Maverick lives to fly another day. Furthermore, the film has some absurd moments which include: an ambiguous, unnamed enemy with no direct ties to any country, and Maverick's "punishment" following his insubordination is essentially a promotion.
Perhaps the most ironic part of the entire theory is that it almost makes more sense than the movie itself. Indeed, it's possible, that before his death among the wreckage Maverick's last moments would be spent fantasizing about a way to reconcile his failures, saving the day once more, and proving to the world that he's still the best pilot on the planet.