42 Fun Facts About Top Gun: Maverick

Who directed Top Gun: Maverick?

Joseph Kosinski directed it; he had made Oblivion (2013) with Cruise and pitched the sequel with a lookbook, poster and title while Cruise was shooting Mission: Impossible – Fallout in Paris.

Whose memory is Top Gun: Maverick dedicated to?

The film is dedicated to Tony Scott, director of the 1986 original, who died in August 2012; he and Cruise had been scouting sequel locations at NAS Fallon shortly before his death.

What is the name of the hypersonic test aircraft Maverick pushes past Mach 10 in the opening?

The aircraft is Darkstar, designed with help from Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, which built a full-scale mockup for filming; its look echoes Lockheed's rumoured SR-72 hypersonic concept.

Which real Navy rank does Maverick hold at the start of the film, having never made flag rank?

Maverick is a Captain, the Navy's highest non-flag rank; Admiral Cain notes that after thirty-plus years he should be a two-star admiral, but insubordination has kept him a test pilot.

Which old rival, now Pacific Fleet commander, saves Maverick's career by sending him to Top Gun?

Iceman, now Admiral Tom Kazansky commanding the Pacific Fleet, has Maverick posted to Top Gun as an instructor; Val Kilmer, recovering from throat cancer, had campaigned on Facebook to return.

What is the mission's target?

An unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant sits in a bunker at the end of a canyon, guarded by SAM sites, GPS jammers and fifth-generation Su-57 fighters.

In Top Gun: Maverick, why is an attack by F-35s ruled out, forcing Maverick's Super Hornet plan?

The enemy's GPS jamming makes it unfeasible, so the plan uses two pairs of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets with laser-guided bombs on a low-level canyon run.

Who plays Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw, Goose's son?

Miles Teller plays Rooster; he won the role in July 2018 after screen tests against Nicholas Hoult and Glen Powell, and grew a moustache to echo his on-screen father Goose.

Why does Rooster resent Maverick?

Maverick had promised Rooster's dying mother that her son would never fly, a promise Rooster knows nothing about.

Glen Powell's cocky aviator had which call sign in the script he first read?

In the draft Glen Powell first read, Hangman was called 'Slayer'; Powell found the cocky aviator one-dimensional and took the part only after Cruise and Bruckheimer promised to deepen him.

Which actress plays Penny Benjamin, the bar owner and Maverick's old flame, in Top Gun: Maverick?

Jennifer Connelly was cast in July 2018 as a single mother running a bar near the base.

The dying admiral's advice to Maverick about Rooster is which line?

Iceman types 'It's time to let go' on his screen, and Maverick answers that he doesn't know how. Kosinski said Val Kilmer's own voice, digitally enhanced, delivered his spoken lines.

What is flown in the late admiral's honour at his funeral?

A missing man formation of Super Hornets flies over Iceman's funeral; in the tradition one jet pulls up and away from the formation to mark the lost aviator.

In Top Gun: Maverick, how does Maverick prove his plan is possible after Cyclone relaxes the parameters?

He flies the course unauthorised, beating his own time, and Cyclone reluctantly makes him team leader afterwards.

Which two aviators fly the buddy-lasing F/A-18F alongside Maverick's lead jet?

Phoenix and Bob fly the two-seat F/A-18F that lases the target for Maverick's bombs; Rooster leads the second pair with Payback and Fanboy, while Hangman waits as emergency pilot.

In Top Gun: Maverick, after both are shot down, which aircraft do Maverick and Rooster steal from the enemy air base?

They steal an F-14 Tomcat, the jet Maverick flew in the 1986 film, and down two Su-57s with it before a third catches them out of ammunition.

In Top Gun: Maverick, who unexpectedly arrives to shoot down the last Su-57 when Maverick and Rooster are out of ammunition?

Hangman had been sidelined as the mission's emergency action pilot, waiting on the carrier deck in his Super Hornet.

What vintage aircraft does Maverick own and fly off in with Penny at the end?

Cruise really does own and fly a P-51; Matchbox even released a die-cast version alongside the F-14 and Super Hornet.

How much did the production pay the Navy per flight hour for Super Hornets and their pilots?

The Navy billed the production $11,374 per flight hour for Super Hornet time; real Navy pilots flew single-seat F/A-18Es for exteriors while actors rode behind Navy pilots in two-seat F/A-18Fs.

How long was the flight 'boot camp' Cruise designed for the actors?

It built up g-tolerance via aerobatics in an Extra 300L and taught the cast to run the cockpit cameras themselves.

Roughly how many hours of aerial footage were shot for the film?

More than 800 hours of aerial footage were shot, more than was filmed for the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, and cut down to a finished film of about 130 minutes.

Which cameras were used to shoot the film in IMAX format?

IMAX-certified Sony Venice 6K full-frame cameras were used; six were rigged inside each cockpit with Rialto extensions, four facing the actor and two facing forward, after a year of work with the Navy.

Which country, the only one besides the US to operate the F-14, was ruled out for Top Gun: Maverick due to sanctions?

Iran, which received 79 F-14s under the Shah, was the only other Tomcat operator; sanctions ruled out its jets, and the US shredded its own retired Tomcats to keep spare parts from Iran.

Where has the Top Gun school been based since 1996, though the film keeps it in San Diego?

TOPGUN moved from Miramar to Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, in 1996 under the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center; the crew shot aerial footage at Fallon while the story stays at North Island.

The Cascade Mountains flying sequences were flown out of which base?

The Cascades low-level sequences were flown from NAS Whidbey Island, Washington; Kosinski and Cruise scouted the routes by helicopter and in an L-39 before the F/A-18s flew them.

Which Formula One champion turned down a fighter-pilot role in Top Gun: Maverick offered through his friendship with Tom Cruise?

Lewis Hamilton cited his racing commitments; Manny Jacinto took a role but later complained his lines were cut.

Which Chinese company invested 12.5% in the film and then pulled out in 2019?

Tencent Pictures had agreed to fund 12.5% of the film but withdrew, fearing its pro-US military themes would anger Beijing; the film was never released in mainland China.

Which two flags vanished from Maverick's jacket in the first trailer, then returned in the film?

The Taiwan and Japan flag patches on Maverick's jacket were replaced with ambiguous symbols in the 2019 trailer, which fans blamed on co-financier Tencent; the finished film restored both flags.

What was the film's original scheduled release date?

Paramount first dated it for July 12, 2019; the complex aerial sequences pushed it to June 2020, and the pandemic then moved it four more times before its May 27, 2022 release.

Which streaming service tried to buy the film during the pandemic, only to be refused on Cruise's orders?

Apple TV+ was reported to have offered to buy the film outright in 2020; Cruise insisted on a theatrical-only release, and Paramount kept it in cinemas well past the usual 45-day window.

How long was the standing ovation the film received at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival?

The screening included a tribute to Cruise's career; the next night's London premiere was the last Royal Film Performance of Elizabeth II's reign.

Approximately how much did Top Gun: Maverick gross worldwide?

It grossed about $1.5 billion worldwide, the highest of Cruise's career and the second-biggest film of 2022 behind Avatar: The Way of Water.

The film's 29% second-weekend drop was a record for a $100M-plus opener, beating which film's 33%?

Shrek 2 had held the mark with a 33% second-weekend drop in 2004; Maverick fell just 29%, stayed in the domestic top five for ten weeks and retook number one on Labor Day weekend.

Which 2025 film broke Maverick's record for the biggest four-day Memorial Day opening?

Lilo & Stitch opened to about $183 million over Memorial Day 2025, beating Maverick's $160.5 million four-day debut, which had been Cruise's biggest opening ever.

Which Academy Award did Top Gun: Maverick win from its six nominations?

It won Best Sound at the 95th Academy Awards, its only win from six nominations, which also included Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song, Film Editing and Visual Effects.

Which Lady Gaga song was the first single from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack?

Hold My Hand, released May 3, 2022, was the first single and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song; OneRepublic's 'I Ain't Worried' followed on the soundtrack.

Which director declared that Top Gun: Maverick had 'saved the entire theatrical industry'?

Steven Spielberg's verdict; Tarantino called it 'as close as we're ever going to get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie'.

Which Ehud Yonay magazine article inspired the original film and prompted a copyright suit against Maverick?

Ehud Yonay's 'Top Guns', published in California magazine in May 1983, inspired the 1986 film; his heirs sued over the sequel and a judge dismissed the case in April 2024 as sharing only unprotectable facts.

Which Japanese mobile game gave its character Mayano Top Gun a 'Maverick' parody poster?

Umamusume: Pretty Derby, Cygames' horse-girl game, marked the film's Japanese release with a parody poster starring Mayano Top Gun, a character named after the 1995 Kikuka-shō winner.

Which UK software company worked with Val Kilmer in 2021 to recreate his voice with AI?

Sonantic, a London start-up later bought by Spotify, built the model from Kilmer's archived recordings in 2021 after throat cancer cost his speech; Kosinski said the film used Kilmer's own enhanced voice.

Which actor signed on to Top Gun: Maverick before receiving an official offer or even a script?

Jon Hamm said he agreed to play Vice Admiral Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson, the commander who clashes with Maverick, before any formal offer or script had reached him.

Which Top Gun composer returned for Maverick, joined by Lady Gaga, OneRepublic and Hans Zimmer?

Harold Faltermeyer, who scored the 1986 original and wrote the 'Top Gun Anthem', returned alongside Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe; the soundtrack was released the same day as the film.