Top Gun: Maverick was a huge success, more than most people could have expected. However, Tom Cruise never wanted to do another Superior gun film after the first in 1986. Director Joseph Kosinski reveals how he convinced Cruise to return to the franchise as the Maverick.
Tom Cruise didn’t want to do another ‘Top Gun’ movie
Tom Cruise originally played Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the original Superior gun. Superior gun wasn’t the box office behemoth its sequel became, but it had a passionate fan base that grew with it. Despite its popularity, Cruise didn’t want to do a sequel.
In an interview with Collider, Kosinski shared that he had a meeting with producer Jerry Bruckheimer who showed him a script for a Superior gun after. After discussing the script and making some changes, the two traveled to Paris to speak to Cruise, who was filming Mission: Impossible – Fall. Kosinski didn’t know Cruise wasn’t interested in returning to Superior gunbut the director managed to pique his interest.
“I think what I didn’t realize, and Jerry was probably smart not to tell me, is that Tom really didn’t want to do another Superior gun movie,” Kosinski explained. “I think he walked into that room ready to say, ‘Thank you for coming all this way, and I appreciate it, but I’m not interested in doing another movie. Then at the end of that meeting, he picked up the phone, and he called the head of the studio and said, “We’re doing another Superior gun.’ So, it was quite an epic meeting and quite incredible to see that level of power displayed.
Kosinski reveals how he convinced Cruise to return
Kosinski told Collider that he finally convinced Tom Cruise to come back for Top Gun: Maverick by simply talking to him about the film. The main story detail that he says convinced Cruise is the reconciliation with Rooster (Miles Teller). Rooster is the son of Goose (Anthony Edwards), Maverick’s former flight partner who died in the first film. Cruise found it to be an interesting story to explore that would also expand Maverick’s character.
“I kind of had my four big ideas that I wanted to talk about,” Kosinski said. “I had visuals. I had some videos. I had a poster, I had a title. I kind of like the big stuff, but it was really, the biggest thing was the story, and it was this Maverick character journey and what it was going to be. I mean, that’s what I think really hooked him was that there was finally something he could hold on to emotionally, and that was this reconciliation with Goose’s son. It was inspired by what was most powerful and people remembered the most from the first movie, which was that friendship with Goose.
“Then just like watching that little kid with the cowboy hat, sitting on the piano in that scene from the first movie, and thinking about him growing up and what it would mean if he became a naval aviator and Maverick had to send him into combat, what it would look like. I think that’s where Tom finally said, “You know what? That’s it. That’s why it’s worth coming back. »
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ was an incredible success story
Tom Cruise definitely made the right decision to come back for Top Gun: Maverick as it is now one of the highest-grossing films of all time. The sequel has now surpassed $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office. It’s not only the most successful film of Cruise’s career, but also the highest-grossing film Paramount has ever made. With the success of this film, this may not be the last we see Cruise as the Maverick.
Top Gun: Maverick is still in theaters.
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