Crucial Top Gun: Maverick scene narrowly escapes international incident

A pivotal scene in "Top Gun: Maverick" nearly caused an international incident, but the film's crew pushed ahead with its production anyway.

An important scene in Top Gun: Maverick is almost the cause of the US international incident. The sequel to 1986's Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick continues the story of Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise), an accomplished Navy test pilot with a history of insubordination. Propensity. A charismatic maverick must work with a group of young pilots to get them up to par for a vital mission to destroy a uranium plant. In the process of training them, Maverick must also prove that he is worthy of a higher rank and more recognition from Central Command.

As a primarily action thriller, Top Gun: Maverick features many stunts that seem unrealistic. Considering how many high-flying tricks are featured in the film, it's easy to assume that most of the film is CGI, but that Top Gun Maverick's tricks are mostly real. As a licensed pilot, Tom Cruise had to fly in real planes, though he preferred to stay in the back seat because he wasn't a Navy pilot. Of course, the stars of Maverick managed to film on actual naval bases through a partnership with the US Navy. As director Joseph Kosinski told Collider, This almost led to an international incident. Check out his explanation below:

I went to China Lake Naval Air Station, which is a Navy base out in the desert. I'm sure you drive near it when you drive up to Mammoth. It's off to the right, and it encompasses a huge amount of desert out there. But I was doing a tour of the base looking for a hangar for the Darkstar sequence. And they said, "You can take pictures as long as you don't point your camera over there." I look over there, and there's this really interesting looking hangar with a tower and barbed wire around it and a blue door. And I'm like, "What is that?" And they're like, "Oh, don't even think about it. You're never going to be able to shoot over there. Don't take a picture of it. Don't even look at it." I'm like, "Well can we drive by it if I don't take a picture?" And they're like, "Okay, fine. We can drive by, but you can't take a picture." So we go, and we drive by it, and I look at it, and it's just perfect. I mean, it looks like a top secret hangar inside a top secret base. And I'm like, "We have this sequence where we've got this secret airplane that they pull out at night, and it just looks like that's the perfect spot for it." And they said, "Well it's no surprise that you're interested in that particular building." So, I'm like, "Oh man, wow. It'd be great to shoot there. That's too bad." So, a couple days later, I get a call. And they're like, "Okay, if you tell us when you want to shoot there, we'll take what's in there, and we'll move it out a few days before so you'll have a building." And we ended up getting to shoot at the top secret hangar, and we really built Darkstar, and we put it in a hangar. And when we pulled it out for the shoot, I was told that certain satellites owned by other countries actually moved in space to take pictures of it. I guess they were able to track that, which I thought was just amazing. If they were able to zoom in very close, they'd see Tom Cruise is in the cockpit, which is pretty cool.

Why Top Gun: Maverick's Stunts Were So Amazing

One of the main reasons for the success of the Top Gun series is that its stunts are so incredible. While Top Gun: Maverick's stunt training has taken a toll on its cast, it means the actors have given everything for the franchise. With a full understanding of the type of training real pilots receive, actors can respond authentically. The fact that it also often features practical effects rather than relying solely on CGI helps promote realism and makes stuntmen feel as though actors are literally risking their lives at every turn.

The fact that Top Gun: Maverick nearly caused an international incident just to show off those real-life tricks should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the series. Just like all six jet fighters in Top Gun: Maverick are actual Navy aircraft, Top Gun always showcases some of the best, most efficient aircraft the Navy has to offer. The movie even shows an actual aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, just to make the production look more realistic.

What's Next For The Top Gun Franchise

The Top Gun series probably won't end with Top Gun: Maverick. The director of Top Gun: Maverick has already hinted at a Top Gun 3 after grossing $1.488 billion. Although Maverick has been at the center of the film since its release, Maverick has already set up Rooster and Hangman as potential replacements for the stars. Tom Cruise, 60, may not be interested in returning to the franchise if Top Gun 3 has been in the works for as long as Top Gun: Maverick.