The domino effect caused by the pandemic has created chaos across the release schedule, but few projects have been delayed as often, or pushed as far back, as Tom Cruise sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
When the actor ended decades of speculation to sign on for his return as Pete Mitchell, director Joseph Kosinski’s fighter pilot sequel was initially announced to hit theaters in July 2019. However, shortly after shooting started it was kicked back to June 2020, before COVID saw it awarded December 2020, July 2021, and November 2021 debuts, before finally (and hopefully) settling on May 27 of this year.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen or heard anything new from Top Gun: Maverick as the marketing campaign went into hibernation waiting for the all-clear to kick off again, but a fresh image has revealed by USA Today shows Cruise’s title hero standing alongside the new recruits, which you can check out below.
Production on the aerial extravaganza wrapped in April 2019, meaning that Top Gun: Maverick flies onto the big screen over three years after Kosinski called it a day, and with 36 having passed since Tony Scott’s classic original. After all that, let’s keep our fingers crossed that it turns out to be worth it in the end.