Top Gun: Maverick producer on Oscar chances and hopes for a sequel

I knew Top Gun: Maverick would be a success, but I didn’t expect the long-belated sequel to become a billion-dollar behemoth. The movie has grossed $1.4 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of Tom Cruise’s career. Given the monumental success of Top Gun: Maverick, there’s been plenty of talk about another sequel and even if the movie has a shot at snagging an Oscar.

While speaking with Variety, Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer was asked if he thinks the movie will receive an Oscar or two when all is said and done.

It’s not up to us. It’s up to other people. Everybody wants to be recognized for what they do, and awards are always nice to get, but we make movies for audiences. We got an older audience back to the theaters. But what’s interesting: we thought it would play for an older audience, but it entertained everybody. You don’t have the kind of grosses we get and not entertain the youth and the audience that saw the original. I hope the Academy sees the same thing that an audience sees: This is a thrilling movie, well told, well acted, well directed, well written. It’s got Lady Gaga’s fantastic hit song.

When it comes to another Top Gun sequel, Bruckheimer isn’t about to rush one into development for the sake of it. “You gotta wait and see if you get the right story, and if Tom wants to engage and play this character again,” Bruckheimer said. “Does he want to put that jacket back on?” Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski also isn’t ready to leap into a sequel anytime soon. “I mean, we’re all just so relieved and grateful that we got this one out the door,” Koskinski said. “After so much work, we’re obviously enjoying being out there and playing for people. We’re not really — at least I’m not really — thinking about the next one. I’m just enjoying this experience. It was a very special confluence of the right group of people in the right story at the right time.” That’s not to say that there hasn’t been any sequel talk; Miles Teller has said that he’s spoken with Tom Cruise about a sequel.

Top Gun: Maverick is now available on Digital and will be released on Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD on November 1st. Do you think Top Gun: Maverick has a shot at winning an Oscar?