After more than 30 years since its release, fans of the 1986 movie Top Gun are still feeling the need for speed. Thankfully, those needs will soon be met, as the long-discussed sequel is now finally filming and will land in theaters next summer. And because Top Gun wouldn't be Top Gun without its legendary soundtrack, Top Gun: Maverick will have a lot to live up to in that department. That includes revisiting Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone," which is as integral to Top Gun as Tom Cruise. To that end, singer Kenny Loggins would like to be a part of it and already has a plan for taking Top Gun: Maverick on the highway to the Danger Zone, saying:
I certainly hope so. Well, I met Tom Cruise on Fallon, and I asked him that question, and he said, 'Of course, we have to use "Danger Zone." So, I'm hoping to do it maybe as a duet with a young act. I'd love to work with, well, there's young and then there's young, but we have some feelers out to some pretty cool rock acts.
It's great to hear that Kenny Loggins still wants to be a part of this property and is on board to once again enter the Danger Zone. It sounds like conversations have already been had too, and ideas are in the works about how best to revisit the iconic song. Thankfully, Tom Cruise acknowledged the importance of including the song, so I think it's safe to say that "Danger Zone" will be brought back in Top Gun: Maverick. The trick, of course, is how to bring back it back. Do you just include the same song in Top Gun: Maverick for the easy nostalgia points, or do you tempt fate and try to mess with perfection?
Well, Kenny Loggins is no stranger to danger, and as he told TMZ, he would like to mix it up and do something different with the song by performing it as a duet with some new talent. He was coy about who he has talked with about a team-up, but it sounds like a younger rock act may be joining him for a slight reinvention of the song. So let the speculation begin as to who should perform "Danger Zone" with Kenny Loggins. That's a cool idea because it pays homage to the original and has Kenny Loggins as a throughline, while also updating it in some way to make it feel fresh. How you can improve upon it, though, is an open question. Also, with a sequel that is meant to tug at our nostalgia heartstrings, some people may only want to hear the original rendition.
Director Joseph Kosinski has teased that Top Gun: Maverick will be its own movie and different from the original, so perhaps putting a different spin on "Danger Zone" is just another way of doing that. In addition to the hopeful return of Kenny Loggins and "Danger Zone", we recently found out that Top Gun: Maverick will also be bringing back Val Kilmer's Iceman.
Top Gun: Maverick launches into theaters on July 12, 2019. For movies hitting theaters a little bit sooner, check out our 2018 release schedule.
