This Is Everything the Pentagon Traded for a First Look at 'Top Gun: Maverick'

The world is abuzz for the new trailer for “Top Gun: Maverick” that dropped during the San Diego Comic-Con – and no one is more curious than the United States Department of Defense, who lent considerable support to the film's production. And why not? The first “Top Gun” was quite possibly the Navy's best tool for recruiting new sailors since the draft.

But support from the Pentagon didn't come without some strings attached (it never does). In exchange for support from the DoD, the film's producers and Paramount Pictures had to agree to give the top brass an exclusive screening before the film is made public.

Not a bad exchange.

Most importantly for the filmmakers of “Top Gun 2,” the production staff was able to fly aircraft around secured facilities and restricted airspace usually reserved for Naval Aviators. Also important for a movie depicting Naval Aviators, the production crew received escorted access to a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. For safety, the cast and crew were also trained by the Navy's sailors in the art of water survival and aircraft ejection seats.

On top of the unparalleled access to Navy facilities, ships, and F/A-18 Super Hornets (as well as the ability to place cameras in the cockpits and on the fuselage of these Super Hornets), the Navy gave the “Top Gun: Maverick” staff a staff of Public Affairs troops in order to "review with public affairs the script's thematics and weave in key talking points relevant to the aviation community."

On top of the PA crew, a Navy subject matter expert was on hand during filming to ensure action scenes were depicted with accuracy. Of course, the Navy also reviewed the days' footage to ensure there were no security violations.

The coolest part (if you were in the Navy at the time, I mean) is that active-duty troops and real Naval Aviators were used as extras and background in the film. Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer reprise their original roles and are joined in the cast by Ed Harris, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, and Monica Barbaro.

“Top Gun: Maverick” hits theaters in 2020 and the Pentagon shortly before that. 

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