The Top Gun sequel is still on the way, so fans of the original ‘80s action flick will just have to wait a bit longer to see Tom Cruise return to the early career-defining role for him. After being set for a December 2020 release, Maverick is back to being a summer release. But will it be worth the wait? One of the new cast members on the film, Glen Powell, has some high-flying praise for the movie.
The actor, who's known for his role in Netflix’s Set It Up and is a voice actor in the new streaming series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, will play "Hangman" in the 2021 movie. Here’s how Glen Powell sang his praises for Top Gun: Maverick:
It's awesome. I mean, the movie is one of the greatest things I think I've ever seen. It has every bit of why you make movies. It's exciting, it's adventurous, it's romantic, it's funny and it elevates the action and the flying sequences and characters from the first one in every way. The margin for error was so small, and the target is so small and to hit it feels really, really good.
That’s a high bar! Top Gun: Maverick certainly has a lot going for it since Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer will reprising their famed parts, Miles Teller is portraying “Rooster,” the son of the late Goose, and the movie has additionally enlisted Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly and The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto.
In good ol' Tom Cruise fashion, there will be some seriously cool stunt work in Top Gun: Maverick. During the production of the film, Cruise actually paid for Glen Powell to earn his pilot’s license after he admired the actor’s swagger as he rode off into the sunset on his P-51 after long days on set. Cruise also reportedly armed the cast with an "entire flight regimen" to make sure they could withstand their time at G-force in the sky.
Glen Powell also told ET about the life-changing experience of getting flight time and training with the “best pilots in the world.” The actor shared this sweet photo of his first lesson with Tom Cruise over the summer:
It looks like the two actors really got along on set and Tom Cruise inspired Glen Powell’s own need for speed. Top Gun: Maverick is directed by Joseph Kosinski, who also worked with Tom Cruise in Oblivion and helmed Tron: Legacy for Disney in 2010. The sequel is now coming out on July 2, 2021 instead of its previous date at the end of 2020 due to continued theatrical date shifts.
Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more updates on movies, and take a look at everything coming out in 2021 with our release date schedule.
