Top Gun: Maverick – One of the most anticipated action movies of the year, is finally in theaters and rising high to renew box office records. This is a sequel to the ‘Top Gun’ movie released in 1986. This movie was announced in 2010, but pre-productions were put on hold when Tony Scott committed suicide.
They restarted the project in 2012 and had scheduled to release the movie in 2019. Unfortunately got hit again by the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, Top Gun: Maverick came to the theaters in May 2022, and it has been dedicated to the late producer Tony Scott.
The plot connects 36 years back, and we thought it would be interesting to see what changes have been made along the way. Keep scrolling down to find How Top Gun Stars Look Then & Now!
01. Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise)
Tom Cruise is back, playing his original role of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. After more than three decades, Maverick has become wiser and more mature. Yet, he couldn’t completely lock away his style and rule-breaking thirst. In the original, Maverick flew an F-14, and today it has changed to an F-18.
He also gets to try a fictional aircraft called ‘Dark Star,’ inspired by SR71 Black Bird. Maverick was summoned to be the instructor in the academy. He has been promoted from a Lieutenant to a Captain. However, still, he uses the same old jacket, aviator sunglasses, helmet, and motorcycle. How can we forget that stylish bike and the leather jacket in Top Gun? I guess the taste won’t fade away with age.
02. Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (Kelly McGillis)
Charlie was an instructor of Top Gun 1986 and the lover of Maverick. Screenwriters have decided to drop her character in the latest movie. Kelly McGillis was a significant icon back then with the success of this film but lost her grip along the way. She has worked in a few low-budget movies and continues performing on stage.
03. Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly)
Jennifer Connelly steps in as Penny Benjamin to fill the gap in Maverick’s love life. Penny Benjamin is the daughter of the Admiral and was mentioned a few times in the first movie as well. Now she is running the Hard Deck Bar. A single mother with a daughter.
04. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer)
Val Kilmer re-enters the series as well with his original character of Iceman. He was the best pilot in the academy back then and has been promoted to a four-star Admiral Commander from a Lieutenant.
Iceman has been ill and passed away before the final mission begins in the sequel. Even in real life, Kazansky has suffered throat cancer since 2017 and has lost his voice.
But the production team wanted to have him in any situation. They have specifically altered the script to match Iceman’s legacy and Kazansky’s health conditions. His character was dubbed with the assistance of Kazansky’s son.
05. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards)
Goose was the Maverick’s best friend. He was a Radar Interception Officer and naval Fight Officer. In the original movie, Goose faces death in a flight accident, leaving behind his wife Carol and son Bradly “Rooster” Bradshaw. Anthony Edwards appeared in several TV series.
He was talented enough to grab a Golden Globe award for the best performance in a drama series in 1998. In May 2022, he directed a Broadway Musical show called ‘Girl from the north country.’
06. Carol Bradshaw (Meg Rayn)
Carol is the wife of the late Nick Bradshaw-Goose- and the mother of Bradly Bradshaw-Rooster. She is not in the sequel and had passed away during the 36 years. Nevertheless, she takes Maverick’s promise to do everything he can and stop Rooster from following in his father Goose’s footsteps.
07. Mike “Viper” Metcalf (Tom Skerritt)
Viper only appeared in the original movie, but his character is still remembered. He was a Naval Aviator and an instructor, a friend of Maverick and his father, Duke Mitchell. Viper used to fly with Duke and explains what happened to his father to Maverick.
08. Sam “Merlin” Wells (Tim Robbins)
We met Merlin in the original movie but never called back to the sequel. He was a Naval Flight Officer and radar intercept officer (RIO) of Bill “Cougar” Cortell. After Cougar quits, Merlin is assigned as the replacement for Goose and gets a chance to work with Maverick.
09. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller)
Rooster is a new character we can see in the 2022 movie. Rooster was the son of Goose. And Goose was Maverick’s best friend, who lost his life in a fight. When Maverick returns as an instructor, he finds Rooster in the academy and helps him become a pilot.
10. Natasha “Phoenix” Trace (Monica Barbaro)
Phoenix is the only female pilot in the new Top Gun movie. She is a Naval Aviator and Top Gun graduates.
11. Jake “Hangman” Seresin (Glen Powell)
Hangman comes in the 2022 Top Gun movie. He is a Naval Aviator and Top Gun graduate. Do you remember the Iceman-Maverick relationship in the original film? Well, we can see the same vibe between Hangman-Rooster this year. But all turns out to be good in the end.
On March 3, 1969, the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. It’s purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to insure that the handful of men & women who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world.
They succeeded.
Today, The Navy calls it fighter weapons school. The flyers call it:
Top Gun: Maverick 2022
TOP GUN
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