Top Gun: Maverick star Tom Cruise explains how the hi-octane aerial stunts and dogfights were planned in the highly-anticipated upcoming film. Cruise returns to the role of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the long-awaited sequel to the actor’s 1986 classic blockbuster, Top Gun. Maverick sees Mitchell return to the elite fighter pilot school to train a new squadron of hot-shot pilots for a special mission. He is joined by Miles Teller who plays Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), Maverick’s wingman from the original film.
In preparation for the sequel film, Teller, along with his fellow on-screen squad-mates, were put through a rigorous Top Gun “boot camp” designed by Cruise and the U.S. Navy. Known for his predilection for realism in his films, the star intended to shoot all of the actors inside actual F/A-18 Superhornet fighter jets during their flight scenes. For the original Top Gun, Cruise and his co-stars were placed inside F-14 Tomcats for certain scenes, unfortunately, due to a lack of flight experience, the cast could not perform in those conditions. To correct their mistake, for two months, the actors of the upcoming film were made to endure grueling physical training as well as flight training on multiple aircraft to prepare them for their roles.
People recently caught up with the cast and crew of Top Gun: Maverick where Cruise detailed how the aircraft stunts and dogfights were planned. Although the cast learned how to fly and were placed inside actual fighter jets for their flight scenes, they were not allowed to control the aircraft due to a litany of leg al and liability reasons. Teller explained that an actual pilot sat in the front seat while the actors were in the back with the camera equipment.
The star further explained that the pilot and actor’s movements needed to match up for realism, adding, “If the pilot pulls this stick left and then I pull the stick left even a half a second after that, that’s not going to look right. The plane’s moving before I’m moving. So you really need to get in sync.” Cruise then shared how he helped the pilots and actors prep for their scenes using a mock-up that he built. Read how the star described the training below.
“I built a wooden mock-up of the F-18, where the pilot was sitting in one place and the actor in the other. I had them work together. I take [the pilots] through the story so that they can get the jet to behave a particular way. I had to teach them about cinematography . . . here’s the moment that we’re going for, here’s the lines.”
Cruise ensured Top Gun: Maverick had a high-level of realism, describing it as his “love letter to aviation.” Creating a strict physical training regimen while placing the actors in actual fighter jets when studios could easily simulate the aerial stunts needed using computer-generated visual effects would seem like an unrealistic and expensive proposition, but for Cruise it was necessary. U.S. Navy adviser, Captain Brian Ferguson, admitted that many thought Cruise was “crazy” for his lofty ambitions, however, the adviser explained that “Every time you see an actor in an airplane, there is an actor in an airplane.”
Cruise is well-known for completing his own stunts and pushing his productions to the limits of authenticity on film. His dedication can be seen in the long-running Mission: Impossible series where the actor has scaled the tallest building in the world, hung from the side of an airplane during takeoff, and famously broke his ankle during a rooftop-to-rooftop leap in the latest film. Cruise even plans to shoot a movie in the zero-gravity environment of space. As Top Gun: Maverick early reviews pour in praise for the movie, there is no doubt that Cruise’s attention to detail and penchant for realism has paid off.