Johnny Marr trying to outdo Kenny Loggins with new ‘Top Gun’ theme

Johnny Marr may have been in one of the best bands ever (The Smiths), but that doesn’t mean he’s doing creating his magical musical legacy.

Since The Smiths broke up in 1987, he’s been a member of the Pretenders, The The, and even alt-rockers Modest Mouse. However, his latest project might be his most epic ever – a new theme for the long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Of course, he has some big shoes to fill. Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” reached second place on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 when Tony Scott’s original was flying high in 1986. However, Marr revealed to Variety that he didn’t think about it too much when composing the song.

“I’ll tell you, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this anywhere yet, but I don’t see why not. Almost by accident, I guess did the theme to the new Top Gun. I think there was some issue with how the theme was sounding, and I was around and I have a guitar. It really was as simple as that. I haven’t seen the movie in its entirety. I didn’t do the score, I just played the theme. I was presented with the thing and they wanted me to make it sound epic. I was like, sure, okay, I can do that!”

This type of high-profile collaboration is actually fairly standard stuff for Marr. He often works behind the scenes with prolific artists, like he did with composer Hans Zimmer and female pop star Billie Eilish for the James Bond theme “No Time To Die”, which recently won a Golden Globe to go along with Grammy and Academy Award nominations.

He also worked on scores for both Inception and The Amazing Spider-Man, so he’s no stranger to the world of blockbuster cinema. As to whether or not the Top Gun: Maverick theme will reach the classic status of “Danger Zone,” we’ll have to wait until the film’s release on May 27 to find out.