It's action stations this May as a 1980s classic gets its massively overdue sequel. We are, of course, talking about Top Gun: Maverick, the follow-up to the era-defining 1986 hit that imported a glossy MTV aesthetic onto the big screen. Here's the new poster.
Top Gun famously made a super-star out of Tom Cruise and his gleaming gnashers, and cemented the Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson school of moviemaking: brash, shiny, adrenaline-fuelled and with little time for logic.
Top Gun: Maverick is helmed by Tron: Legacy filmmaker Joseph Kosinski and the advances in technology now allow for dynamic in-cockpit cinematography. Tom Cruise compelled all of his young Top Gun: Maverick co-stars to fly in the jets used in the movie, so we can expect a fair amount of verisimilitude.
With the new Maverick trailer now on release, here are the highlights that have us desiring to grow out our hair, adopt some leg warmers and report for duty (not necessarily in that order).
1. There's a new squad of cadets
We don't get to learn all of their names, apart from 'Bagman.' However, the talented new cast forming the ranks of Top Gun Academy includes Miles Teller (Whiplash), Glen Powell (Everybody Wants Some), Lewis Pullman (Bad Times at the El Royale) and Monica Barbaro (Unreal).
2. Maverick still carries his reputation
So named for his tendency to create his own rules, Pete' Maverick' Mitchell enjoys spitting in the face of authority. His safety-defying methods ultimately helped save the day in the original Top Gun, but it seems like old habits die hard.
Maverick has been drawn back into the fold to train the newcomers, but only reluctantly, as his stony-faced superiors (including Jon Hamm's Vice Admiral Cyclone and Charles Parnell's Rear Admiral Warlock) make clear.
3. Iceman has graduated
Val Kilmer's Iceman AKA Tom Kazansky has been noticeably absent from the Top Gun: Maverick marketing thus far. We learn in this new trailer that he's moved up the ranks to become an Admiral, although we only learn this from a framed photo.
Apparently, Iceman is the person who has recommended Maverick for the job of training the new pilots, so it seems as if the new-found friendship established at the end of Top Gun is still intact.
4. Maverick has unorthodox ways of teaching
What better way to make an impression than to fly your own jet at dangerously close proximity to other people's? Welcome to the world of Maverick.
5. There's tension between Maverick and the late Goose's son
Miles Teller portrays Lt. Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw, the now grown-up son of Maverick's late wingman Goose (Anthony Edwards).
Rooster has serious trust issues relating to Maverick (perhaps understandably), and may even be a new Maverick in the making thanks to his brash attitude. Can the two men reconcile their differences and work together to save the world. Well, what do you think?
6. There's a new level of global threat
We don't know exactly where the threat is coming from, but a quadrant of missiles is fired at our new Top Gun collective, so we imagine it's pretty serious.
Jennifer Connelly's love interest character Penny reinforces the author's message, solidifying Maverick's new role as a father figure in the making to the new cadets.
And yes, we are promised scenes of impromptu karaoke and shirtless beach sports. Is it the eighties all over again?
Top Gun: Maverick is released in Cineworld cinemas on May 25th with presentations in 4DX and IMAX. Excited? Let us know @Cineworld.
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