TOM CRUISE has given fans a first look at the long-awaited sequel Top Gun Maverick.
He may never have quite mastered the Irish accent – as 1992’s Far and Away painfully reminds us time and time again – but when it comes to high-octane action, no one does it better than Cruise.
2018’s Mission Impossible – Fallout was a timely reminder that Cruise remains the master when it comes to blending fast-paced action cinema with breath-taking practical stunts.
The good news for Top Gun fans is that that trend looks set to continue with this highly-anticipated follow-up, which has been previewed in a first trailer unveiled by the man himself at San Diego’s Comic-Con.
Describing the movie as a “love letter to aviation” Cruise suggested the film will deal with issues around drone technology and a new generation of flying recruits.
The trailer certainly ticks all the boxes, with Cruise’s Maverick introduced as something of a dinosaur who, according to non-descript general played by Ed Harris, is facing “extinction”.
Soundtracked by a slowed-down version of Harold Faltermeyer’s iconic original score, the trailer ticks all the boxes with snapshots of Cruise’s Maverick on a motorbike, recruits enjoying a rowdy piano sing-song in a packed-out bar and, of course, some musclebound volleyball action.
Allied to all that, the film boasts an impressive cast that includes Miles Teller as the son of Goose, Maverick’s late partner in crime, and Jennifer Connelly as a possible love interest.
Glenn Powell, Jay Ellis and the ever-watchable Jon Hamm also feature while there’s even room for the return of Val Kilmer as Iceman.
Director Joseph Kosinski, who worked with Cruise in the underrated sci-fi adventure Oblivion, is helming the project with the film slated for a June 16th, 2020 release.
Coming some 34 years since the original smashed box office records all over the world, Top Gun: Maverick looks set to make cinemagoers feel the need for speed all over again.