In 1986, movie audiences flocked to see sexy, sweaty, testosterone-driven Air Force pilots compete with each other in the action-packed, Tom Cruise hit, Top Gun.
Thirty-two years later, a sequel – Top Gun: Maverick – is about to take flight.
Here’s hoping the follow-up offers more underwear-clad, towel-wearing shower rooms scenes between the hunky pilots as well as new, updated versions of the classic soundtrack.
Filming began at the end of May and Tom Cruise, reprising his role as “Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell,” tweeted a pic of himself standing in front of his old F-14A Tomcat, with a reference to the iconic movie line, “I feel the need, the need for speed” along with the hashtag #Day1.
#Day1 pic.twitter.com/7jjPL277Es
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) May 31, 2018
Also returning is Val Kilmer reprising his role as “Iceman,” and Jerry Bruckheimer is again at the helm as producer.
Variety reports that Cruise’s character is now “a flight instructor and that the film would explore a world of drone technology, fifth-generation fighters and the end of the era of dog-fighting.”
Not only was the original movie a hit at the box office grossing over $357 million worldwide, but the iconic soundtrack was a monster in the 1980s.
In addition to the score by composer Harold Faltermeyer, the soundtrack featured two major radio hits written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock: “Danger Zone” performed by Kenny Loggins (#2 on Billboard) and “Take My Breath Away” (#1 on Billboard, Oscar & Golden Globe winner) performed by Berlin.
Both Loggins and Faltermeyer have signed on to update their musical contributions for a new generation.
In an interview with TMZ, Loggins shares that he’s chatted with Cruise about recording a new version of the song. “I met Tom Cruise on ‘Fallon’ (meaning The Tonight Show) and I asked him that question,” Loggins said. “He said, ‘Of course, we have to use ‘Danger Zone.’”
“So I’m hoping to do it, maybe as a duet with a young act,” he said. “I’d love to work with, well, there’s young and then there’s young. We have some feelers out to some pretty cool rock acts.”
Who do you think should reinvent those classic tracks in the sequel, readers?
Top Gun: Maverick is slated to hit theaters on June 12, 2019.
