Early Thursday morning, actor Tom Cruise teased the production of the sequel to “Top Gun” by showing off a photo on social media with him standing in a flight suit and “Day 1” written as the caption.
The phrase “FEEL THE NEED” is also seen in the photo, as Cruise stares at a fighter jet on the tarmac.
The phrase is in reference to the famous movie line, “I feel the need – the need for speed.”
Production on the sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” has started, Paramount confirmed to USA Today.
#Day1 pic.twitter.com/7jjPL277Es
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) May 31, 2018
While not much of the film’s plot is known, it is reported that Cruise’s character, Maverick, will be a flight instructor in the modern era, where technology has changed and drone technology is explored.
“The Navy is very different now than it was in 1986,” said director Joseph Kosinski. “It’s just a different world now, so you can’t remake the first movie. It has to adapt, [but] I certainly want to re-create the experience of that movie, which gives you a front seat into the world of naval aviation and what it’s like to be in a fighter jet.”
Jerry Bruckheimer will return to produce the movie, which is expected to be released on July 12, 2019.
Cruise, the lead actor in the original “Top Gun” film released more than 30 years ago, confirmed last May that there is going to be a sequel to the romantic military action drama that has since had a large cult following.
In 2016, Cruise and the original film’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, were seen discussing the project when Bruckheimer tweeted a picture of the two of them together.
In the original film, Tom Cruise plays United States Naval Aviator LT Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a cocky Navy pilot who, along with his Radar Intercept Officer LTJG Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, head to the Top Gun school at NAS Miramar.
