The death of original Top Gun director Tony Scott last August cast doubt over whether or not the franchise would continue. And rightly so. Scott brought us the well-loved 80s classic which propelled its star Tom Cruise into a bonafide leading man. Following his tragic demise, the studio appeared to have given up on Top Gun 2. Nearly a year later, producer Jerry Bruckheimer reveals that a sequel is still on the cards.
Bruckheimer, who served as producer on the original, has opened up about the state of the follow-up. Talking at the Produced By conference he told reporters:
“For 30 years we’ve been trying to make a sequel and we’re not going to stop. We still want to do it with Tom [Cruise] and Paramount are still interested in making it. What Tom tells me is that no matter where he goes in the world, people refer to him as Maverick. It’s something he is excited about so as long as he keeps his enthusiasm hopefully we’ll get it made.”
With Tom Cruise keen to revisit his role of Maverick, the jet pilot from the 1986 original, it’s likely we’ll see Top Gun 2 sooner than you think. Prior to his passing, Scott had started momentum on the film. Script development was underway and he’d even gone so far as to begin scouting for film locations. With Bruckheimer’s talk yesterday, there might be reignited interest from the studio and Cruise.
The producer went on to comment on the possibility of The Lone Ranger turning into a series too. The Johnny Depp-starrer is set to arrive in the middle of this summer’s blockbusters. It’ll be the box office draw that determines the likelihood of a sequel:
“It’s always up to the audience. If the audience likes the movie then Disney will come to me and we’ll make another or it will be a one-off.”
The Lone Ranger opens on July 3rd in the US and August 9th in the UK.
Top Gun 2 is still in development. We’ll keep you posted on the sequel’s status.
