L’intermission – Top Gun: Maverick

Soaring to New Heights

“Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash,” complains Captain Tom Stinger to Maverick in the original Top Gun, released in 1986. The fan-favorite quote perhaps ironically foreshadowed the success of Top Gun: Maverick, which is cashing checks left and right after becoming the highest-earning film of 2022 during the last week of June. The film has earned over $617 million domestically and more than $1.2 billion worldwide, championing it as one of the most successful motion pictures released post-pandemic.

More than thirty-five years later, Tom Cruise returns to his role as Captain Peter “Maverick” Mitchell to star in Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the esteemed Top Gun (1986). | Photo courtesy of Paramount