It looks like the passage of time or going several g’s can’t stop Tom Cruise from doing what he wants. The 59-year-old actor arrived for the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in only the way he can, on a helicopter aboard the retired aircraft carrier USS Midway.
It’s been 36 years since the original Top Gun and pitching a sequel had almost taken a decade. Originally scheduled for a 2020 release, and delayed due to the pandemic, Top Gun: Maverick returns to tell the story of Cruise’s Pete Mitchell confronting his past and helping his late friend’s son, played by Miles Teller, train as a pilot.
Cruise, a licensed pilot, has been preparing for his return as Maverick for years now and producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that was indeed the actor inside the cockpits for those action scenes.
“Every time you see him flying, that’s him in that jet”, he told The Hollywood Reporter. “You can’t pull Tom Cruise back. He’s going to do what he’s going do.”
Cruise’s fellow castmembers also said that he doesn’t shy away from doing the harder stuff. Glen Powell, who plays Lieutenant “Hangman” Seresin, mentioned that he’s very much hands-on when it comes to stunt work.
“Tom does not half-ass anything, as we all know, and Tom put together a flight program for all of us so that by the time we graduated to the F/A18, we wouldn’t be passing out or puking in Naval assets,” he said. “When you have Maverick training you how to fly and that enthusiasm, it really rubs off on you.”
Top Gun: Maverick hits theaters on May 27.
