If it’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s the next big franchise. From Jurassic Park to Harry Potter to Transformers, studios are always looking to create massive cinematic movements. Now, comic book and superhero movies are the fad, evidenced by the billion-dollar power of Marvel Studios, something which Warner Bros. is playing catch-up with via its DC filmverse.
Interestingly, Paramount Pictures could once more have the opportunity to chart out the entertainment industry’s next big series. It’s all due to Top Gun: Maverick proving it has the spectacle, style and substance to produce expansive, character-driven stories for the next few years.
Maverick has been impressing critics and fans at the box office, not just because of its family-friendly nature and simplicity but because of how it captured the nostalgic heart of its predecessor from the ’80s. It packed in romance, action and comedy as Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell taught a new group of graduates, leveling them up to bomb a terrorist facility. It eventually led to him and Rooster, Goose’s son, patching things up, going behind enemy lines as spies, taking out villains and then getting back home.
This sets up potential reprisal from the unnamed hostile nation, which has superior jets and tech in general. Top Gun has been all about offense, so a movie about defense and revenge would put the new generation into a whole new level of dogfight, with Maverick having to train them for new physical situations, mental warfare and territory he might not be an expert in. This could lead to them all learning from the program Maverick was booted out of when the movie began: using the hypersonic “Darkstar” scramjets that break Mach 10.
It’s basically putting the franchise in Fast & Furious territory, but it’d make sense that the Navy and American government in general wants its most heroic, talented fleet to evolve. New jets could be made, with new programs, trainers and rival cadets used at various locations, really making this a universe. Other lieutenants from the first film can be brought back too. Sprinkling around new leaders like Pete’s commanding officer, Admiral Cyclone (Jon Hamm), also creates continuity as he can teach pilots on various projects akin to Maverick.
What’s also interesting is sequels and spinoffs can even focus on the new breed, giving Rooster and the arrogant Hangman more screen time to shine away from Pete. Hangman’s the new Maverick, while Rooster followed in Goose’s footsteps, so a new adventure can give them their own version of Val Kilmer’s Iceman. Given there are other badass pilots in Bob, as well as Latinx characters like Phoenix and Fanboy, the franchise can further tell diverse stories with characters of color, especially as the main Top Gun films have been predominantly white.
There’s simply a blank canvas to explore, with or without Maverick, that could put the team on mind-blowing missions, pushing the envelope with each entry. Heck, the series might even do the unexpected and go to space, like what Dom Toretto’s team did in Fast & Furious. An astronaut-take on Top Gun in the future, maybe even defending the planet from invaders or used in space exploration, aren’t things to be considered outlandish given CGI advancements today, after all. Ultimately, the sky’s the limit. With Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on this property, Top Gun can transform into the perfect mix of an aerial Fast & Furious and Mission: Impossible, taking the experience of popcorn flicks to soaring new heights.
Top Gun: Maverick is now playing in theaters.
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