Tom Cruise has confirmed that the long-mooted sequel to Top Gear is definitely happening.
A sequel to the ’80s action classic has been in the works since 2010, but Cruise has finally given fans reason to celebrate.
Asked for a status update on Australian TV show Sunrise, Cruise replied: “It’s true. I’m going to start probably in the next year. I know, it’s happening. It’s definitely happening.”
He then told the show’s evidently shocked presenters: “You’re the first people I’ve said it to – you asked me and so I’m telling you.”
Watch the clip below.
WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE: @TomCruise just confirmed that Top Gun 2 is happening! "I’m gonna start filming it probably in the next year". #sun7 pic.twitter.com/X17xvxz4Q4
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 23, 2017
Last year, Top Gun producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that he and Cruise had met to discuss the sequel. “Just got back from a weekend in New Orleans to see my old friend @TomCruise and discuss a little Top Gun 2,” Bruckheimer posted on Twitter at the time.
Just got back from a weekend in New Orleans to see my old friend @TomCruise and discuss a little Top Gun 2. pic.twitter.com/vA2xK7S7JS
— JERRY BRUCKHEIMER (@BRUCKHEIMERJB) January 26, 2016
Cruise and Tony Scott, director of the 1986 action classic, met in August 2012 to scout locations for a sequel in Nevada, but after the director committed suicide later that month, plans for Top Gun 2 were apparently put on hold.
However, last June the CEO of the production company behind the long-mooted sequel, Skydance’s David Ellison, revealed that a script for Top Gun 2 was being written with Cruise’s character, Maverick, in mind.
Ellison said at the time: “There is an amazing role for Maverick in the movie and there is no Top Gun without Maverick, and it is going to be Maverick playing Maverick.” While promoting Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation in July, Cruise spoke with cautious optimism about the sequel, saying: “If we can figure it out, it would be fun to do.”
Cruise’s co-star Val Kilmer later appeared to suggest he had accepted a role in the sequel, but then admitted he had “jumped the gun”.