Top Gun films
The Top Gun film franchise consists of two major installments: the original "Top Gun," released in 1986, and its sequel "Top Gun: Maverick," which premiered in 2022. Both films star Tom Cruise as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and Val Kilmer as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, showcasing their development from rivals to friends in the high-stakes world of military aviation. The original film, directed by Tony Scott, became an iconic box office hit, earning over $357 million, while "Top Gun: Maverick," directed by Joseph Kosinski, achieved even greater success with approximately $1.488 billion in global receipts.
The first film was inspired by a 1983 article that detailed the training at the Navy Fighter Weapons School, also known as "Top Gun." It chronicles Maverick's journey as a talented yet reckless fighter pilot who grapples with loss and personal growth. The sequel revisits Maverick thirty years later, where he trains a new generation of pilots, including the son of his late partner Goose, while confronting his past.
Both films significantly impacted popular culture, establishing Tom Cruise as a leading actor and solidifying the reputations of producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson. The franchise not only celebrates military aviation but also explores themes of camaraderie, sacrifice, and redemption, resonating with audiences worldwide.
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Top Gun films
The commercially successful Top Gun film franchise consists of the original Top Gun released in 1986 and its 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. Both films feature Tom Cruise in the starring role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Val Kilmer as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Maverick’s rival-turned-friend. The original Top Gun release was directed by Tony Scott, and Top Gun: Maverick featured Joseph Kosinski as director.
Top Gun was one of the most iconic and profitable Hollywood films of the mid-1980s. The first installment of the franchise generated more than $357 million in global box office revenues on a production budget of $15 million. Top Gun: Maverick, the original’s long-rumored and highly anticipated sequel, earned $1.488 billion in global box office receipts on a production budget estimated at $170 million.
Background
The original Top Gun film was inspired by an article titled “Top Guns,” which was first published in the May 1983 issue of California magazine. “Top Guns” took an insider look at the activities of the Navy Fighter Weapons School, a military training academy nicknamed “Top Gun” and located at Naval Air Station Miramar near San Diego, California. The article provided detailed descriptions of the academy’s training missions and featured panoramic aerial photography taken from inside the cockpit of a US Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter plane. Recruits attended the Top Gun school to learn to fly the challenging aircraft and master its cutting-edge combat capabilities.
The film producing team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson hired screenwriters Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr. to write a screenplay based on the “Top Gun” article. Bruckheimer and Simpson enjoyed a string of producing success in the years leading up to Top Gun, with Flashdance (1983) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984) both earning significant profits.
Bruckheimer and Simpson signed a multi-film producing contract with Paramount Pictures in August 1983. That same month, the Hollywood trade periodical Daily Variety first reported Top Gun as being in development. In December 1984, with Beverly Hills Cop enjoying a strong run at the US box office, Paramount Pictures gave Top Gun the green light, an entertainment industry term to describe a movie that has been formally authorized to move into production. In March 1985, Cruise was confirmed as the film’s star and Scott had signed on as director. Top Gun officially opened in May 1986 to mixed critical reaction but strong box-office performance.
Rumors of a potential sequel first surfaced after Top Gun’s initial success, but the follow-up film did not immediately come to fruition. A 2022 Hollywood Reporter article described the production journey of Top Gun: Maverick, noting that Kosinski had impressed Bruckheimer with his vision for the movie. Cruise, who had worked with Kosinski on the 2013 sci-fi action film Oblivion, agreed to star in the sequel after hearing Kosinski’s pitch. Bruckheimer brought in producer David Ellison to guide the development and production of Top Gun: Maverick. Cruise also made his participation conditional on the return of Kilmer to the cast, and Kilmer agreed to reprise his role as Iceman in the sequel.
Overview
Top Gun tells the story of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a talented but cocky fighter pilot assigned to the Naval Fighter Weapons School. Maverick trains alongside his partner and best friend, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, played by actor Anthony Edwards. At the academy, Mitchell develops a rivalry with Tom “Iceman” Kazansky as they both vie for recognition as the school’s “Top Gun,” an award given to the top-performing fighter pilot in the class.
Despite his obvious talents, Maverick finds himself an outsider among the other pilots in his class due to his conceited and nonconformist attitude. Maverick is forced into a self-reckoning when he loses control of his fighter jet during an aerial training encounter with Iceman, resulting in Goose’s death. After considering quitting the academy, Maverick decides to return and graduates from the class. Iceman wins the “Top Gun” award.
Following their graduation, Maverick and Iceman are chosen to lead a rescue mission when a damaged US Navy communications ship accidentally drifts into foreign waters, creating a risk of an international military confrontation. Maverick and Iceman come under fire from enemy planes during the mission but cooperate to rescue the wayward naval vessel and make a safe return to base. The rivals become friends, and the success of the mission enables Maverick to move past the haunting guilt caused by Goose’s death.
Top Gun: Maverick picks up the story thirty years after the events of the original film. Maverick has achieved the rank of captain and has enjoyed a long career as a top Navy test pilot, but he has deliberately avoided achieving an elevated rank that would take him out of active duty. Iceman has become a fleet commander in the Pacific region and has used his influence within the military to prevent Maverick from being reassigned to ground duties.
Following a training accident that results in the destruction of an expensive hypersonic fighter jet, Maverick is sent to train a class of fighter pilots preparing for a classified mission to destroy an illegal uranium enrichment facility. Maverick wins the respect of his students by outperforming them in a training mission simulating aerial combat. Goose’s son Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, portrayed by Miles Teller, is among Maverick’s new students. Maverick faces a moral dilemma due to a promise he made to Rooster’s mother, pledging that he would never expose her son to the same danger that resulted in Goose’s death. With Rooster poised to participate in the dangerous classified mission, Maverick asks Iceman for advice. Iceman, now in the final stages of terminal cancer, encourages Maverick to let the talented Rooster participate in the mission.
Though Maverick was not originally slated to fly in the classified mission, he is inserted as its leader under a new commander. During the mission, Maverick sacrifices his jet to protect Rooster, saving Rooster’s life. Maverick and Rooster both make a safe return following the successful mission, and Maverick is finally able to reconcile his lingering guilt over Goose’s death.
Top Gun was originally released on May 18, 1986, and went on to become the top-grossing box-office hit of 1986. Top Gun: Maverick debuted in North America on May 29, 2022, earning $126.7 million in its opening weekend. Top Gun: Maverick was the top-grossing film of 2022 at the US box office, with approximately $717.7 million in revenues from ticket sales and $1.49 billion in revenue earned. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards in 2023, including Best Picture.
Impact
The original Top Gun film is noteworthy for establishing Cruise as a bankable star. Prior to Top Gun, Cruise had enjoyed commercial success in films including Risky Business (1983) and Legend (1985), but he had not yet firmly cemented his status as a leading actor. After the runaway success of Top Gun, Cruise went on to become one of the most accomplished actors of his generation. Starring in iconic roles in critically acclaimed and commercially successful films including Born on the Fourth of July (1989), A Few Good Men (1992), Jerry Maguire (1996), Minority Report (2002), and the Mission: Impossible and Jack Reacher franchises, Cruise was nominated for Academy Awards in acting in 1990, 1997, and 2000. In 2023, Cruise was nominated for an Academy Award as a producer on Top Gun: Maverick, and the film received a Best Picture nomination.
Kilmer’s career followed a similar upward trajectory after the success of Top Gun. The actor also established himself as a talented and versatile leading man during the 1990s. Following Top Gun, Kilmer went on to starring roles in Willow (1988), The Doors (1991), Tombstone (1993), True Romance (1993), and Heat (1995). Notably, Kilmer suffered from throat cancer in real life and was in remission during the filming of Top Gun: Maverick. His character, Iceman, suffers from cancer in the film; the creative choice was made in part because Kilmer had a tracheotomy during his cancer treatment and, as a result, now speaks with a weakened, raspy voice.
Top Gun also elevated the producing team of Bruckheimer and Simpson to the status of one of the top filmmaking tandems in Hollywood during the 1980s. According to a 1994 New York Times article, movies produced by Bruckheimer and Simpson generated $2.5 billion in ticket sales during the 1980s. The tandem is credited with developing a signature polished, soundtrack-driven aesthetic during the 1980s and remained among Hollywood’s most influential producers until Simpson’s death in 1996. Bruckheimer has continued as a high-profile producer since that time, most notably in the action genre.
Bibliography
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