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TOP GUN 2 in development; Tom Cruise may Return for a Small Role

jefferiestubes8

jefferiestubes8

Commodore
Commodore
Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (Valkyrie) is working on an idea for Top Gun 2, and Paramount is eager to get the project up and running, with offers out to the original producer/director team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott to return. McQuarrie has even devised a way to include Tom Cruise in a minor reprisal of his role as Maverick: Cruise is game as long the role isn’t too “obvious.”
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October 13th, 2010
TOP GUN 2 in the Works; Tom Cruise Will Return for a Small Role

via
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/10/top_gun_2.html

What are they flying these days in United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI program), more popularly known as TOPGUN flight school?
answer:
TOPGUN instructors currently fly the F/A-18A/B/C Hornet and the F-16A/B Falcon
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Even more important question: with the Soviets gone, who the hell anonymous pilots are the protagonists going to fight?

From the above Collider article:
Vulture reports that the impetus behind the project is David Ellison, who was three years old when Top Gun hit theaters. Yet Ellison wore out VHS copy, which inspired him to become an aerobatic pilot and instrument-rated commercial pilot, followed by a stint at USC’s film school. It just so happens that David’s father is Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle Corp. and sixth richest man in the world. When you’re a trust fund kid who loves movies about planes, you start a production company, name it Skydance, and debut with the WWI drama Flyboys. (Also, you star in that movie as Eddie Beagle, who apparently shouts “Beware the hook!” after shooting down a German plane with his “hook hand.”)

Ellison didn’t let the rousing non-success of Flyboys discourage him; he has been a major player in the financing of Paramount’s upcoming slate. The first of these is the Mission: Impossible reboot, currently filming.

So as long as Ellison has the means, he might as well fund the satisfaction of his need — his need for speed a Top Gun sequel.
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I'd call Ellison disparaging names for doing this, but the truth is that if I had all that money I'd probably be doing the same thing for my pet interests, so while those would of course be a lot more worthy, I can't really fault him getting his rocks off.

Still, seems to me that what with the total absence of aerial dogfights anywhere in the world (that I know of), he'd be better off financing more historical pictures.

As for Cruise's involvement, I'll believe it when he's cast.
 
My bet is that they'll invent some vague mercenary air force with equally vague Middle Eastern/European/North Korean ties as the baddie. But the lack of a realistic enemy has never stopped a Hollywood movie before, IMO.

But rather than F-14s against MiG-28s, it could be F-18s against M-29s or even foreign-owned F-16s. If they go CGI, however, the sky would literally be the limit as far as what current aircraft they could use...
 
Calling it now... Shia LaBeouf as Maverick and Charlie's son who has become aimless since Charlie died (she died so they don't have to bring Kelly McGillis back who doesn't look like Kelly McGillis anymore).

Val Kilmer and/or Tim Robbins as Top Gun instructors?
 
C.E. Evans said:
My bet is that they'll invent some vague mercenary air force with equally vague Middle Eastern/European/North Korean ties as the baddie. But the lack of a realistic enemy has never stopped a Hollywood movie before, IMO.

But rather than F-14s against MiG-28s, it could be F-18s against M-29s or even foreign-owned F-16s. If they go CGI, however, the sky would literally be the limit as far as what current aircraft they could use...
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The last F-14s have been retired, so if they want those it would have to be stock film or CGI.
 
"Faster Than the Speed of Love"...

It's a price we pay for relative global peace, but it DOES suck that there's basically no one in the world anymore who would be a threat to an allied air force in terms of dogfighting. As it stands, the missile technology we already have would make air-to-air kills almost always beyond visual range, on either side. Seriously cool to be able to do, but hardly exciting in a movie compared to anything before Desert Storm.

If the movie's just in development, it'll be a good three years minimum before the thing hits the screens. In order to keep costs down, I can see them using CGI for an awful lot of shots, as in Flyboys (which I actually *did* like if only as an excuse to see lots of dogfights). As such, I could see them using the Navy version of the F-35 as the plane for the movie, and the plot centering around training the first generation of pilots for it. The F-35C isn't supposed to be available until 2014-15 anyway, so the timeline fits. Otherwise, they can just use the existing or (better yet) newer Block 2 F-18 E/F Super Hornets, which is the plane that mostly replaced the F-14.

As for cameos from anyone, it would be seriously unrealistic to consider Maverick, Iceman or any of the other pilots from the first move as still actively flying in the Navy. As I understand it, few pilots have a career in a fighter jet that lasts longer than five or six years in the first place. They would have all since retired to desk jobs or civilian lives. However, it WOULD be interesting to see Maverick flying a 737 out of Topeka one day when he got called back to active duty to teach a bunch young whippersnappers how to dogfight.

Oh, and play beach volleyball to catchy 80s music. :P

Mark
 
Mark_Nguyen said:
However, it WOULD be interesting to see Maverick flying a 737 out of Topeka one day when he got called back to active duty to teach a bunch young whippersnappers how to dogfight.
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That'd be a neat idea. They could probably even give John Travolta a role as his co-pilot lol. Even better, they could lean towards the cockpit window when they see someone buzzing the runway and smiling at the thought. He apparently has a real commercial flight license.
 
So how would Top Gun 2's climatic battle be like?

"Dropping bomb."

BOOM!

"We have confirmation. Target has been destroyed."

"Yay!!!!"

I guess if you want a legitimate air threat, two words: Alien invasion.
 
Owain Taggart said:
Mark_Nguyen said:
However, it WOULD be interesting to see Maverick flying a 737 out of Topeka one day when he got called back to active duty to teach a bunch young whippersnappers how to dogfight.
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That'd be a neat idea. They could probably even give John Travolta a role as his co-pilot lol. Even better, they could lean towards the cockpit window when they see someone buzzing the runway and smiling at the thought. He apparently has a real commercial flight license.
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He has his own personal 747 and 747-capable airstrip at one of his homes too.

Aragorn said:
I guess if you want a legitimate air threat, two words: Alien invasion.
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What with the speculative Travolta/Cruise co-cameo above, I'm thinking Top Gun 2: Lord Xenu's Revenge.
 
Gotta love the AV Club:

Top Gun also really isn't about politics, except by omission. Military conflicts bookend the film, but the enemy never gets a name, much less an ideology. After successfully engaging the "bogies" in fatal armed combat, Top Gun star Tom Cruise and his fellow pilots celebrate on the deck of their aircraft carrier, even though they've most likely just started World War III.
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:rommie:
 
^ Nah, Admiral Strickland* told Mav that the other side hushed it up. No harm, no foul. :D

*I know that's not his actual name but I can't for the life of me remember the actual character name right now, and I always think of him as Principal Strickland anyway...
 
jefferiestubes8 said:
Holdfast said:
I always think of him as Principal Strickland anyway...
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Mr. Strickland: [pushes Marty a little bit]
You've got a real attitude problem, McFly. You're a slacker! You remind me of your father when he went here. He was a slacker, too.
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"McFly, I got to do something here; I still can't believe it. I got to give you your dream shot! I'm going to send you up against the best. You're going to... go back... back to the future!"

Or something like that...
 
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