Tom Cruise Surprises Comic-Con By Dropping ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Trailer
The new trailer for the sequel to Top Gun is making fans feel the need for speed.
Actor Tom Cruise made an unexpected pit stop at the San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday to drop the trailer to the crowd of fans at the tail-end of the panel for the new film Terminator: Dark Fate.
“Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to say hello to the biggest movie star you’re gonna meet in a long, long time: Mr. Tom Cruise,” said the late-night comedian Conan O’Brien.
The crowd in the 8,000-seat room erupted. The star went on to introduce the long-awaited trailer, according to the Associated Press.
Cruise said San Diego was the ideal setting to first show the trailer as the original was shot in the city 34 years ago.
The two-minute trailer starts off with a shot of a desert with mountains in the background.
“Thirty-plus years of service. Combat medals. Citations,” a voice said over video of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, played by Cruise, flying a plane. “Only man to shoot down three enemy planes in the last 40 years. Yet, you can’t get a promotion, you won’t retire and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die.”
The shot reveals a man sitting at a desk, played by Ed Harris. His character asks Maverick why he isn’t “at least a two-star admiral by now.”
Check out the official poster for #TopGun: Maverick starring @TomCruise. In theatres 2020. pic.twitter.com/5emkDH9j5f
— Top Gun (@TopGunMovie) July 18, 2019
“It’s one of life’s mysteries, sir,” said the ace pilot.
The majority of the trailer is filled with shots reminiscent of the original film, like Maverick putting on his famous leather jacket and aviators.
“The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction,” said Harris.
“Maybe so, sir. But not today,” Cruise responds.
The film plot explores the idea that drones are making fighter pilots extinct, according to The Guardian. As Maverick is a traditional and aging pilot, he is fighting to keep his craft alive in the modern world.
Cruise told Comic Con that all the flying in the trailer is real, and that Top Gun: Maverick is a love letter to aviation. The producers worked with the U.S. Navy for the film, which is still in production.
Cruise posted the trailer, which now has over 7 million views, on Twitter on Thursday afternoon with the caption “Maverick is back. #TopGun.”
Maverick is back. #TopGun pic.twitter.com/8ZDeE5h6fs
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) July 18, 2019
The 1986 film follows a young Maverick as he goes through elite fighter pilot training with his sidekick Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, played by Anthony Edwards, and sparks a romance with his instructor, Charlotte Blackwood, played by Kelly McGillis.
Maverick will team up with Goose’s son in the sequel, played by Miles Teller.
In the original movie, Goose’s son is seen as a young boy during the “Great Balls of Fire” scene in the barbecue restaurant, according to USA Today.
The film features a host of familiar faces as well as several newcomers to the series. Val Kilmer, who is returning to play “Iceman,” Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm will also star in the sequel.
Top Gun: Maverick is expected to hit theaters on June 26, 2020.
