Positive reaction has been swift for last night’s first trailer for Top Gun: Maverick, with fans congregating on Twitter to express excitement over the film, comment on Tom Cruise’s unfathomably youthful face and, somewhat unexpectedly, discuss the strange visual similarities between the forthcoming sequel and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Eagle-eyed viewers have suggested that both trailers feature identical shots of high-powered vehicles flying across desert landscapes before whipping upwards into the air, along with similar shots of hands gripping levers and pushing buttons and characters embracing one another.
“Same damn movie,” tweeted Jon Ostrower, editor-in-chief of The Air Current. Film podcast Lights, Camera, Pod also re-edited the Top Gun trailer to feature the audio from the Star Wars trailer over the top of it, and the similarities are even more eerie.
Outside of the Star Wars fanbase, however, reaction has been kinder, with thousands expressing giddiness over the film. “I’m 17 again!!!!!!!!” one tweet read, “Playing hooky from classes to go watch this one multiple times! Had the cassette and wore it out replaying! C’mon 2020! Wanna meet Maverick again!”
Others echoed similar enthusiasm. “Well watching this Top Gun trailer was jolly nostalgic!” tweeted author and former RAF tornado navigator John Nichol. “Lots of great memories from back in 1986, just starting Navy training, watching the original and dreaming of doing this for real. Halcyon days indeed.”
Cruise’s looks have also been praised. “Guy had the fountain of youth in his house,” one person joked, while another contrasted the ages of Cruise and his costar Ed Harris: “11 years separates Tom Cruise and Ed Harris. This makes it look like 30 wtf”
Top Gun: Maverick, directed by Oblivion‘s Joseph Kosinski and co-starring Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Val Kilmer and Jennifer Connelly, is released 17 July 2020.
