Filming for the long-awaited sequel to the wildly-popular 1986 military drama Top Gun has begun in San Diego, California.  Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer will be reprising their roles from the original as the two rivals, Maverick and Iceman, who battled for the title of “Top Gun” at the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School at the Miramar Naval Air Station.

But will one of our new Top Gun candidates be a female this time around?  In the upcoming sequel, Cruise reportedly will be playing the role of the flight instructor, the role that Kelly McGillis played in the original movie, a character that also served as Maverick’s love interest. As filming commenced in San Diego, McGillis, who had previously expressed interested in appearing in the sequel, was spotted near her home in Hendersonville, North Carolina. No sequel for Kelly, it seems.

Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy and Oblivion – see our review of Oblivion here: https://thereelness.com/film/oblivion/) is directing the sequel, chosen after Top Gun director Tony Scott’s 2012 death had threatened to scrap the project.  Kosinski says moviegoers can expect to experience life inside the cockpit of the fighter jet, although changing technology (i.e. drones) have forced a change in how combat will be handled.

“It’s just a different world now, so you can’t remake the first movie. It has to adapt.” -Joseph Kosinski, on the Top Gun sequel.

Even the score will have remnants of the prior film. Harold Faltermeyer is returning as composer, with Kenny Loggins currently working on a new version of of the iconic song, “Danger Zone,” that he says he hopes to record as a duet with a younger act.

Paramount Pictures says it will release Top Gun: Maverick on July 12, 2019 in the U.S., meaning we all have a year to wait for the potential blockbuster. The first trailer for the the sequel is expected around November or December 2018. In the meantime, enjoy these music vids from the original and get in the Top Gun mood.