It's been said that 1986's Top Gun is the single most effective Navy recruitment campaign ever. The sequel is shaping up to be more of the same.
Tom Cruise recently shared a 3-minute featurette for Top Gun: Maverick where he talks in detail about why it took so long for him to reprise his role as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, which helped launch his career. In addition to explaining and justifying his return for the sequel, Cruise also pointed out how much work the producing team put in by collaborating with the United States Navy. Specifically, the actors that play the pilot trainees all had to go through intense military training so that they can get used to flying alongside real-life pilots.
Cruise's vast Hollywood experience guaranteed that he won't pull out any stops for Top Gun 2. Don't forget, the Hollywood star is also a certified pilot. Unfortunately, the Navy did not clear Cruise to fly an F18, but the Mission: Impossible actor does get to have his fair share of fun with some helicopters and an older P-51 in the highly anticipated Top Gun sequel.
Maverick has taken the scenic route getting to this point after the initial announcement in 2016. The filming reportedly wrapped up in 2019 with the premiere originally scheduled for Summer 2020. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paramount Pictures moved the release date multiple times. In the end, the delay might have been good for Maverick. The film's director, Joseph Kosinski, gave the film's director, Joseph Kosinski, more chances to flesh out the movie's dogfights and aerial sequences.