Everything we know about the state of the Top Gun sequel

Top Gun is one of the most beloved action films of all time so it should come as no surprise that fans everywhere rejoiced when Tom Cruise officially announced that a sequel, titled Top Gun: Maverick, was in the works. But what exactly do we know about the upcoming sequel besides its name and the fact that it exists? Cruise and the rest of the Maverick crew have remained mostly tight-lipped but thanks to the power of the internet, we have a decent amount of information about the film. Here is everything we currently know about Top Gun: Maverick.

The original Top Gun starts and ends with Maverick, so it should come as no surprise that megastar Tom Cruise will be reprising his leading role as the baddest fighter pilot on the planet. Along with Cruise, Val Kilmer is onboard, once again playing the part of Iceman, Maverick's semi-friendly rival.

"I can't comment on the screenplay, but we all know what we want to see!" Kilmer wrote on Facebook.

The biggest news in terms of casting came in early July 2018, when Miles Teller (Whiplash) announced via Twitter that he had been cast to play the son of Goose, Maverick's original flying partner, in the highly anticipated sequel. It is believed that Goose's son will be one of Maverick's proteges in the new film.

Tony Scott, who directed the original film, was attached to direct until his death in 2012. Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) has been brought on as Maverick's director in Scott's place. Cruise and Kosinski previously worked together on Oblivion (2013), which received mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office.

Justin Marks (The Jungle Book) wrote the first version of the script, which was then tweaked by Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle). As for the story itself, not too much is known in terms of actual plot, beyond Cruise telling E! News, "It's about a guy who flies jets."

Initially, it was believed that the movie might focus on drones and how they have changed warfare and made fighter pilots, like Maverick, increasingly less relevant in society. However, it has been reported that the drone storyline has been abandoned in favor of a more action-focused plot.

"Personally, I would never want to see a movie about drones," Kosinski explained. "For me, Top Gun has always been not about fighter planes. It's been about fighter pilots."

Based on Cruise's tweet, it appears that Maverick began filming on May 31, 2018, a date that was confirmed by the Department of Defense. Cruise and a crew shot for two days at the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego before Cruise headed off to promote his upcoming film Mission Impossible: Fallout. Shooting will continue in September 2018.

So when will Top Gun: Maverick actually fly into theaters? The sequel is currently slated to be released on July 12, 2019.

Perhaps most importantly of all, Cruise said in an interview with ET Canada that the sequel could revisit the iconic volleyball scene, which featured an epic showdown between Maverick and Iceman.

"There could be a beach scene," Cruise said. "That's all I can tell you."

This article originally appeared on Fatherly. Follow @FatherlyHQ on Twitter.