Filmmaker Joseph Kosinski has revealed that in order to capture the action of his upcoming and long-awaited sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” the production crew did a lot of filming… like a LOT.
Speaking with Empire to promote the upcoming film, Kosinski revealed that in order to get usable footage, including some extreme shots never really attempted on film before, they had to do a ton of filming. He explains just how much:
“Out of a 12- or 14-hour day, you might get 30 seconds of good footage. But it was so hard-earned. It just took a very long time to get it all. Months and months of aerial shooting. We shot as much footage as the three ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies combined. I think it was 800 hours of footage.”
The sequel to the iconic 1986 original sees Tom Cruise returning as Maverick, the famed hotshot pilot who returns in a teaching role and stars opposite Miles Teller, Monica Barbaro, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Jennifer Connelly, and Val Kilmer.
As previously reported on, much of the cast went through “Tom Cruise boot camp” including three months of actual flight training. “Top Gun: Maverick” is slated for release in cinemas on May 27th.
