Tom Cruise recently posted a not-so-subtle tweet about the upcoming Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick and fans couldn’t contain their excitement.
The actor uploaded a photo of his character, Maverick, looking at his fighter jet with the words “FEEL THE NEED” overlaid on top. The phrase refers to a famous line from the original 1986 film: “I feel the need, the need for speed.”
Cruise all but confirmed that the movie has finally started production by captioning the pic, “#Day1.” Previous reports noted that the movie was set to start filming this summer. The plot centres on fighter pilots who “grapple with drone tech that is making their old style of flying obsolete,” according to The Hollywood Reporter
One fan commented on Twitter: “I can’t believe it’s finally happening!!! I’ve been waiting to see a sequel to Top Gun when I first saw the original movie for the first time when I was 13 years old!! Top Gun will ALWAYS be my favorite @TomCruise movie of ALL TIME!”
Another added: “I’M LITERALLY CRYING HAPPY TEARS RIGHT NOW!”
A third tweeted: “The first one resulted in me joining the Navy….this one may lead to a young 42 year old reenlisting!!”
It’s unclear who else is starring in the film, but there will be a new love interest for Maverick. A twentysomething son of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, who died in the 1986 original, will also make an appearance.
Fans are pining for other members of the original cast to return. One person tweeted: “Can you imagine if Meg Ryan was on? I know Val Kilmer hasn’t been well. So many in that cast that were so awesome!!!”
Another wrote: “I know Val said multiple times he likes to return. It [would] also be great to see Meg again. Though my guess Kelly [McGillis] doesn’t return.”
According to IMDB, Kilmer was contractually obligated to appear in Top Gun but had no desire to be part of the cast. Ironically, it wound up turning into one of his most iconic roles. The film was the highest-grossing movie of 1986, taking home $356,830,601 US worldwide.
One of the most talked about scenes in the original was the volleyball game. Cruise told Entertainment Tonight last summer: “[There] may be a volleyball scene. Maybe. I have not told anyone in the world as much as I’ve just told you right now.”
Top Gun: Maverick is set for release in July 2019.
