Way back in 2012, following the box office success of “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol," the head of Paramount stated that “Top Gun 2” would be produced and released before “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” Now, finally, as the “Mission: Impossible” sequel is set to open in a few weeks, there is some firm information on the current status of the return of Maverick.
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Collider reports that in a conversation with Skydance’s David Ellison, the idea of a “Top Gun 2” is very much an ongoing concern for the company, saying “I don’t think what people are going to expect, and we are very, very hopeful that we get to make the movie soon. But like all things, it all comes down to the script, and Justin [Marks] is writing as we speak.”
Ellison is hoping for a 3D and IMAX experience, and as Jerry Bruckheimer teased last year, drone warfare will inspire the plot. "When you look at the world of dogfighting, what’s interesting about it is that it’s not a world that exists to the same degree when the original movie came out," Ellison said. "This world has not been explored. It is very much a world we live in today where it’s drone technology and fifth generation fighters are really what the United States Navy is calling the last man-made fighter that we’re actually going to produce, so it’s really exploring the end of an era of dogfighting and fighter pilots and what that culture is today are all fun things that we’re gonna get to dive into in this movie."
Unfortunately, no timeline is mentioned in the interview, and it still could be way off with the sequel to "Jack Reacher" potentially shooting this fall. In the meantime, get your Tom Cruise fix by catching “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” when it opens in theaters on July 31st.