Top Gun 2 Starts Production; Tom Cruise Reveals Teaser Image

Back in January 2016, legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that he had been talking to Tom Cruise about a potential sequel to the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun. More than two years later, it has been confirmed that Top Gun: Maverick has started shooting ahead of its July 2019 release.

The news comes via Cruise himself, who celebrated day one of the movie's production with a new tweet. It shows Cruise as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, looking out across a runway at his F-14A Tomcat, with one of the original movie's famous catchphrases pasted on top. Check it out below:

Top Gun: Maverick is directed by Joseph Kosinski, who previously worked with Cruise on the 2014 sci-fi movie Oblivion. This won't be the first time Kosinski has brought a popular '80s movie property back to the big screen either; he also directed the Tron reboot Tron Legacy in 2010. No other casting news has been revealed yet, but expect some names to be announced in the coming weeks.

The Top Gun sequel was in development for many years. In 2015 it was confirmed by David Ellison, chief executive of production company Skydance, that a script was being worked on, and he gave a few hints about what to expect.

"Justin Marks is writing the screenplay right now," he said, as reported by Collider. "He has a phenomenal take to really update that world for what fighter pilots in the Navy has turned into today. 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. It is, I don’t think, what people are going to expect."

Top Gun was released in May 1986. It went on become the highest grossing film of that year, earning $353 million worldwide from a budget of just $15 million. Top Gun: Maverick hits theaters on July 12, 2019.