Top Gun: Maverick has proven its staying power after reaching the coveted $1 billion-dollar mark following the box-office dogfight with newcomer Elvis. While audiences have loved Maverick’s cinematic return, it also marked the return of aviation fashion. The original film spawned a love for aviator shades, bomber jackets, white tees, and cowboy boots. But there’s another prop that had more of a personal connection. Tom Cruise spoke on producer Jerry Bruckheimer taking back an iconic Top Gun prop the day filming was over after lending it to him for the blockbuster sequel.
Top Gun fashion only came second to the iconic volleyball scene in the original film. The film dictated fashion trends for years after its release. So, of course, Maverick had to harken back to the original 1986 film’s pop culture-shifting wardrobe. The sequel achieved this with the aid of Bruckheimer as he lent Cruise his actual watch. Given it was the Hollywood producer’s timepiece, the Top Gun actor revealed to BBC Radio the producer’s immediate response after the final Maverick scene was shot.
The watch I wear is the original watch, but Jerry Bruckheimer has that watch, so I had to go, ’Jerry, I need the watch for the movie.' The second I was done shooting –that day – he held it.
You can’t blame the Hollywood producer for wanting his watch back. It’s not just a movie prop, it’s his actual timepiece. But it was generous of Bruckheimer to lend it to Cruise for the sake of nostalgia. But Maverick’s beloved watch wasn’t the only Top Gun memento that popped up in the sequel. Recalling the return of the aviator jacket and helmet led to the Hollywood star reminiscing over an original piece late Top Gun director Tony Scott kept for himself.
I have the helmet. The Jacket is the original jacket. That is the jacket, the jacket. Tony Scott had the cowboy boots, and he wore them forever, like I would see him and be like, ‘Tony, you’re still wearing my [boots]!’ He created those colors and what a sweetheart. And that jacket is the jacket and I still have it.
It was heartwarming to know Tony Scott kept those boots years after the original film wrapped up. At least, he found a practical use out of them, according to the Mission: Impossible star. It’s nice to know Maverick’s clothing and accessories from the first film were in the second film. So, the nostalgia factor wasn’t just about Easter eggs and references but the trendsetting fashion as well.
Maverick’s tremendous success as well as those of other box office champs hasn’t bypassed Cruise as he penned a sweet message to everyone, including moviegoers. One of those fans included Thor: Love and Thunder’s Chris Hemsworth, who showed the movie some major love. Of course, the sequel’s box-office reign almost didn’t happen if director Joseph Kosinski hadn’t convinced him to do another one. Hopefully, the film’s massive box office will convince him to do a threequel sooner and not another three decades from now.
If you want to see Top Gun: Maverick, you can go to your local movie theater and watch all the high-flying action. Before you catch the legacy-quel, there are ways to stream Top Gun online if you want to see how the fashion hasn’t changed since 1986.
