Joseph Kosinski Interview: Top Gun Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick is finally in theaters this weekend, several decades after the 1986 classic Top Gun wowed audiences everywhere. Though the sequel had lofty expectations to fulfill, the glowing reviews and healthy box office thus far suggest it has more than lived up to them. Maverick reintroduces audiences to its eponymous lead character (played by Tom Cruise) now that he is in a position of leadership and with years of experience under his belt.
While one of Maverick's most significant dynamics in the Top Gun sequel is with the son of his fallen friend Goose, nicknamed Rooster (Miles Teller, The Offer), that's far from the only vestige of the original present in the story. The friendship between Maverick and Iceman (Val Kilmer) may not play as large a role, but it feels every bit as poignant.
Related: Why Iceman Doesn’t Speak In Top Gun Maverick
Screen Rant spoke to director Joseph Kosinki about how he sought to honor the original film, the reception to the sequel, and the significance of reuniting Maverick with Iceman onscreen.
Screen Rant: I go to screenings with a lot of press, and we're usually pretty subdued. But we were howling, hollering, screaming. What a movie!
Joseph Kosinski: Amazing. Well, I'm so happy to hear that.
What does it mean to you to take this on?
Joseph Kosinski: I was a fan of the original, like everyone else. I saw it as a 12-year-old kid, so stepping into it, there was a lot of pressure. We all felt it: me, Tom, Jerry. Tom described it as hitting a bullet with a bullet, which is pretty tough.
Every day, we were all pushing, working as hard as we could to deliver the best possible movie and try to live up to the original.
And then it screens at Cinema Con. We've had a couple of screenings, and
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