Tom really didnt want to make anotherTop Gunand [director Tony Scotts suicide] made it even less likely.
Im sure for him, thats probably another reason why he wouldnt ever consider going back.
He kept saying, Joe, we got to hit a bullet with a bullet.
The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ team, from left, producer Christopher McQuarrie, Tom Cruise, director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, on set.Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection
And that was his line on this movie.
And so, I certainly heard that in my head every day as we were making the film.
So, I think thats why that scene lands so well.
Val KilmerandTom CruiseinTop Gun: Maverick.Paramount Pictures
It was his idea to make it feel as authentic as possible.
I was blown away when he offered that up.
You really felt that connective tissue to the past.
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And thats another reason we wanted this film to represent them in the best way possible.
Because they worked so hard to help us capture all that.
Every flight was flown by real Navy personnel.
Every time you see Phoenix flying in the film, shes being flown by a female aviator.
The Navy has very different personnel than it did in 1986.
The movieTop Gun: Maverickrepresents the Navy of today as opposed to the Navy of 1986.
And thats how far its come and how different it is now than then.
So, it was good that our film was able to represent that in a really authentic way.
Tom was jumping off the roof of his house as a kid.Hes just always been that way.
So, for him, he loves [stunts].
Hes always very well-trained and is working with the best people.
To an outsider, it does look insane.
But I think for him; hed want to be doing nothing else.
Hes living his dream every day on a movie set doing these things.
So, for him to do it is one thing.
But on this film, I had all the other actors [flying for real] too.
They all wanted to do it to prove they could do it, and to deliver something really special.
Because once we saw the footage they were getting, it was undeniable.
But thats what these people do every day.
Youre pulling 6, 7, 7.5 Gs in the jet,and thats incredibly draining.
The actors were wiped out.
People would be just exhausted.
It was really, really difficult.
Even for the real pilots themselves, thats a lot of work.
Hes like, Joe, when you see this footage, youre going to be blown away.
So, Tom went up and shot his third act sequence, which is the big bombing run.
He came back, and it was the last debrief of the day.
I said, Tom, howd you do?
And he said, We crushed it.
It was very Maverick/Tom Cruise.
Is there a difference?
So, I got to live that dream of being in the Navy for a couple years.
I got to go to places that civilians dont get to go to.
I got to see things that no civilian would get to see.
I had my camera confiscated at one point.
I got to go to China Lake and shoot in a hangar that is top secret.
And it was all in this quest for authenticity.
Theres a reality to it.
We collaborated with the actual engineers who make the real secret aircraft.
It was just a dream come true.
