Highway to the danger zone! Tom Cruise soars high in the first official trailer for Top Gun: Maverick, in which the action movie star makes his return as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the sequel to the 1986 flick follows Cruise’s Maverick as he tackles the role of test pilot instructor to a new generation of recruits. The nearly two-and-a-half-minute trailer opens with footage of Maverick taking flight, followed by an unknown voice describing the Maverick as “one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced” to a group of new recruits.
“His exploits are legendary,” the unidentified voice continues. “What he has to teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death.”
Cruise is then seen speaking his first line as Maverick, where he admits he wasn’t “expecting an invitation back.” From there, viewers witness several jam-packed action sequences, including a glimpse of Cruise’s fictional counterpart riding off on a motorcycle.
The Jerry Maguire actor, 57, stars in Top Gun: Maverick along with Ed Harris, Jon Hamm, Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Lewis Pullman, Jean Louisa Kelly, Jay Ellis, Manny Jacinto and Glen Powell.
The new footage arrives months after a teaser trailer for Top Gun: Maverick dropped in July at San Diego Comic-Con. During Paramount Pictures and Skydance’s presentation for Terminator: Dark Fate, Cruise made a surprise appearance to help announce the anticipated sequel.
“For 34 years, you guys have been very patient with me,” the actor said to attendees at the time, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “And I felt it was my responsibility for me to deliver for you.”
Ellis, 37, recently praised Cruise when raving about his “amazing” experience working alongside the Mission Impossible star for the upcoming film. “He’s a mentor, he’s a filmmaker, someone who has a very strong point of view and can communicate it very clearly,” Ellis told Collider in September. “It allows you to be able to go out and play. And he definitely, he looked out for us.”
Top Gun: Maverick was initially set for a July 2019 premiere, but Paramount Studios announced in August 2018 that they would push back its release date by one year.
Top Gun: Maverick is set to hit theaters on June 26, 2020.
