The Top Gun sequel is finally taking off as writer Justin Marks has been chosen to write the script, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer spoke with The Huffington Post last March and said that he’d wanted to shoot a sequel to Top Gun, the film that cemented Tom Cruise’s Hollywood Icon status, made a generation of young men want to join the air force and put Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” at the top of the radio charts. At the time, Bruckheimer outlined his idea for the plot of the Top Gun sequel.
“The concept is, basically, are the pilots obsolete because of drones? Cruise is going to show them that they’re not obsolete. They’re here to stay. It’s just getting to the starting place. Fortunately for Tom, he’s very busy, so you have to find a slot he can fit into and get a budget that Paramount feels they can make the picture.”
That starting place for the followup to Top Gun has apparently arrived. Bruckheimer has picked screenwriter Justin Marks, who just wrapped the script for Disney’s upcoming live-action version of The Jungle Book . Marks tweeted his involvement just last weekend.
While you guys watch football, I’m organizing my Top Gun playlist into sequential order of when the songs appeared in the movie. So there.
— Justin Marks (@Justin_Marks_) September 7, 2014
The Top Gun sequel will reportedly be made with Paramount and Skydance, with David Ellison of Skydance producing along with Jerry Bruckheimer. Dana Goldberg is executive producing.
So, will Tom Cruise be in the sequel? Jerry Bruckheimer talked about his initial attempts to get the movie made, and Cruise’s interest as well last March.
“We’ve been trying to get that movie made for thirty years, and I think we’re getting closer and closer. Don [Simpson] and I tried to develop something, we didn’t succeed. [Tom] Cruise took over, and he tried to develop something, and he didn’t succeed. Now we’re back at it.”
If Cruise was interested enough to try to develop the project on his own, it’s a good bet that he’ll be on board with a great script. The A-list actor is still in better shape than most 25 year-olds, and let’s face it, Tom Cruise is synonymous with Top Gun . The sequel would be nothing more than a straight-to-dvd candidate without him.
At the end of the original film, Tom Cruise’s character – call sign Maverick – tells Tom Skerritt’s character that he’d like to come back to the Top Gun training facility and become a flight instructor. That’s the perfect opening for his character in the Top Gun sequel.
image via The Dissolve