Top Gun 2 Cast Real Pilots Inspired By Original Movie As Extras

Top Gun: Maverick has cast real pilots, who were inspired to follow a career in flying by the original movie, as extras. A staple of 1980s cinema, Top Gun has earned a reputation as one of the most thrilling (and perhaps charmingly cheesy) military movies ever. More than 30 years after the release of the original 1986 film, it was announced that a sequel was on the way. The follow-up Top Gun project is said to follow Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Tom Cruise’s hotshot fighter pilot character from the original film, as he trains a new squad of Top Gun graduates for a dangerous mission that may require the ultimate sacrifice.

The original Top Gun, directed by the late Tony Scott, was released to mixed reviews from critics but proved immensely popular with general audiences. Alongside Cruise, the film featured Val Kilmer, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan, Tom Skerritt, and Tim Robbins. However, only Kilmer and Cruise are returning to reprise their roles for the sequel. Maverick will also star Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, and Ed Harris, all newcomers to the franchise.

In a recent interview with People, Jack Kilmer, Val Kilmer’s son, said that he was fortunate enough to spend time on the Maverick set in San Diego along with his father and his sister, Mercedes. While there, Kilmer says they saw “hundreds of extras of real pilots.” The star’s 26-year-old son said he learned that many of the extras were inspired to become pilots after watching the original Top Gun. Read his full comments below:

“They were coming up to us and telling us that the first Top Gun inspired them to join the navy and the air force. Then we had these big F-bomb planes flying overhead. It was like one of the proudest moments of being American that you could think of really.”

Top Gun, in addition to gaining a reputation as the popular 80s film that essentially launched Tom Cruise’s career, also earned acclaim for its profound effect on recruitment numbers for the United States aviation services. In fact, Top Gun is said to have contributed to a 500% increase in applications for the U.S. Air Force and Navy pilot programs, an impact that no other film has come close to replicating before or since. The movie was such a strong recruiting tool that some movie theaters screening the film even had recruitment booths set up at their venues.

While the original Top Gun may have single-handedly changed the perception of the American aviation services for audiences at the time, it remains to be seen what impact, if any, the sequel will have. Maverick also isn’t the first Hollywood film to feature real military personnel as characters in the movie. Act of Valor, a 2012 action film, starred real Navy SEALS in leading roles which, while giving the film an aura of authenticity, ultimately resulted in less-than-stellar acting and generally uninteresting characters. Fortunately, Maverick seems to mostly be using these real pilots as extras, meaning they won’t actually have any lines or much screen time. In any case, it will be interesting to see if Top Gun: Maverick will be able to recapture the magic of the original hit and inspire a new generation of American pilots when the film releases later this year.

Source: People

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