Tom Cruise ‘didn’t want to make another Top Gun’ but changed his mind after 30-minute pitch

Virgin Radio

31 May 2022, 09:37

The long-awaited (and massively popular) Top Gun sequel almost never happened, according to its director. 

Joseph Kosinski admitted he only had 30 minutes to pitch Top Gun: Maverick to original lead Tom Cruise, who was not on board when they first sat down to discuss the idea. 

Speaking to Polygon, Joseph revealed how he got 1986 Top Gun producer Jerry Bruckheimer on board with his plans, but it was Tom who would make the final call.

Joseph explained: “We flew to Paris, where Tom was shooting Mission: Impossible, we got about a half hour of his time between setups.

"And I basically had 30 minutes to pitch this film, which I didn't realise when we were flying over. But when I got there, I found that Tom really didn't want to make another Top Gun.

"It's one of those moments as a director, you have one on every film, where you're on the spot to make a case for why this movie should be made. I had 30 minutes to do it."

Luckily for Joseph (and Top Gun fans everywhere) Tom was convinced by the pitch and called up the head of Paramount Pictures to announce the news. 

“It was pretty impressive to see the power of a real movie star in that moment,” added Joseph. 

It’s a good thing Tom definitely said yes to Top Gun: Maverick as it’s currently smashing the action star’s box-office records. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, in its opening three days, Top Gun: Maverick made $248million (£197m) across the globe, marking Tom’s biggest opening weekend in his career.

In the US, the action film made a staggering $124million (£98m) across the weekend, which means TG:M is Tom’s first film to open to over $100million (£79m) across the pond. 

36 years after the original Top Gun film, fans are finally getting to see what is in store for Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. 

This new movie comes with a host of new faces too, including Miles as Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s late friend Goose, as well as John Hamm and Ed Harris. 

Top Gun: Maverick is out in cinemas now.