Momentum has been building behind a potential Top Gun sequel for quite some time now, but up until this point the only news about the project has been rumor and hypotheticals. What’s clear is that every time Tom Cruise talks about the project he sounds enthused to get it started, and he very much wants Tony Scott to come back and direct again. But, despite that enthusiasm, no concrete moves have been made to get the film in production.
There were rumors at one point that X-Men: First Class writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz had been hired to come up with a script, but nothing seems to have come of that, because now THR is reporting that The Town writer Peter Craig is the guy coming on board to take a crack at getting things started. If that’s true and Craig does actually start and finish a Top Gun script that gets used, then it should be seen as a pretty big coup for a movie about oversexed jet pilots. The Town turned a lot of heads, and it seems like after hitting it big with such gritty work Craig wouldn’t be looking to transition into flashy popcorn stuff. It would be exciting to see what he came up with given the task though.
But what’s there to make us think that this news of Top Gun 2 ramping up pre-production is any different from all the other false starts? Well, the first hint is the fact that they’re hiring Craig in the first place. Going after a serious writer can be seen as a new serious approach to finally getting a filmable version of this story on the page.
Secondly, Tom Cruise just made a ton of money at the box office starring in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and it has kind of assuaged some fears that Cruise’s worth as a box office draw might have been dwindling. Now that he’s put some new money in the studio coffers, there’s bound to be newfound enthusiasm for developing Tom Cruise projects that are easily marketable to a wide audience. Enter: a project with name recognition and a cult following. If the original Top Gun does actually get a 3D conversion and a theatrical re-release, and it ends up doing well, then I’m sure this sequel will get even more of a rocket engine strapped to it.
What do you think Top Gun fans? Is Cruise zipping up the flight suit one more time a good idea, or are we on the highway to the danger zone?