Tom Cruise has been making the press rounds promoting Mission: Impossible 7 and the death-defying motorcycle stunt contained therein, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about his long-awaited return to the film that put him on the map: Top Gun. In honor of “Top Gun Day,” Cruise shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the upcoming sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, along with a special message to the die-hard fans who can’t wait to take another ride into the danger zone.
“#TopGunDay is a day created by and dedicated to the fans,” Cruise wrote on Instagram. “I can’t wait for you guys to see Top Gun: Maverick later this year.”
The Top Gun sequel was supposed to be released on December 23, 2020, but the pandemic had other plans. After initially being bumped to July 2, 2021, which would’ve seen the film fly into theaters during the patriotic July 4th weekend, Paramount delayed Top Gun: Maverick again, this time to November 19. The second delay caught fans off guard after Paramount had previously stated that it was feeling confident with the Biden Administration’s “robust” vaccination efforts. Unfortunately, the studio had to reassess its plan after Europe and Japan went into lockdown, which threatened Cruise’s hopes to do a full-press global tour. That’s a marketing strategy you don’t abandon lightly.
“Tom Cruise is one of the few stars who can move the needle by doing late night shows and premieres across the world,” a studio exec told The Hollywood Reporter following the news of Top Gun: Maverick‘s jump to November.
(Via Tom Cruise on Instagram)