Top Gun: Maverick finally flies into cinemas next week, ending the 36-year wait for fans to see Maverick again.
Talking to Digital Spy at last night's (May 19) Royal Film Premiere, Jon Hamm – who plays Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson in the sequel – reflected on the numerous release date delays and assured fans that it won't disappoint.
"There were a couple of fits and starts, weren't there? We finished the movie in 2019, we were supposed to come out in 2020 and the world had other plans," he explained.
"We're very happy that it's coming out now, we think it's worth the wait, especially to see it big and loud and in 4K and in IMAX and in Dolby and all the other things. We're very excited for people to see it the way it was meant to be seen."
Co-star Greg Tarzan Davis – who plays Lieutenant Javy "Coyote" Machado – added that the sequel simply "has to be seen on a big screen", if only to make their intense training for the movie worth it.
"We went through so much in those jets that it would hurt if people would say, 'Oh, I'm just gonna stream it at home'. You want the feels," he continued.
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"It was so perfectly crafted, the beats of the emotional rollercoaster that people are going to go on, you want to go on it with an audience member."
Given that Top Gun: Maverick has been getting rave reviews since its first screening last month, it sounds like it has been worth the wait.
Digital Spy also spoke to Tom Cruise, who said he didn't want the sequel to be a "cover of the original".
"I always wanted it as the people who love Top Gun, they could pull that off their shelf and then say, 'OK chapter two' and they pull off Top Gun: Maverick," he noted. "You feel the progression of that world and that character."
Top Gun: Maverick is released in UK cinemas on May 25 and in US cinemas on May 27.
![Top Gun – 4K Ultra HD [Blu-ray] [2020] [Region Free]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1623254447-51aVUJxpYxL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Top Gun – 4K Ultra HD [Blu-ray] [2020] [Region Free]")
Columbia/Legacy Top Gun - Motion Picture Soundtrack (Special Expanded Edition)
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
With over a decade's experience in the media space, Ben started out as a freelance writer for publications such as Trusted Reviews, the Daily Star and Gamesradar among others, before eventually turning his skills towards the world of video.
Ben worked at Digital Spy between 2019 and 2024 as Video Editor, and later the site's Video Lead.
Prior to his time with DS, Ben worked with the likes of ITN Productions, Yahoo! UK, AOL, Red Bull and The V&A Dundee on a range of productions from smaller social edits to global live streams and longer form documentaries for London Fashion Week.
A survival-horror aficionado who has shared a stage with Chas & Dave, helped Charles Dance navigate the DVDs in HMV and visited Murray Walker's home (for a shoot, he didn't just turn up), Ben is not easily starstruck, and always happy to film with names big or small.
