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Audiences are one step closer to the Danger Zone, after the release yesterday of the latest “Top Gun: Maverick” trailer.

In what is perhaps one of the most drawn-out movie releases… ever, Paramount Pictures is inching closer to releasing the highly anticipated sequel to the 1986 blockbuster, which is scheduled for release on May 27, 2022, after an achingly long two-year delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

Its latest trailer is sure to “Take [The] Breath Away” from any Top Gun aficionado.

The trailer opens with the latest generation of elite naval aviators testing one another’s mettle, with “Phoenix” (Monica Barbaro) asking, “Everyone here is the best there is. Who the hell are they gonna get to teach us?”

Enter: Pete “Maverick” Mitchell who, after 36 years in the Navy, seems never to have advanced past the rank of captain. Maverick is played by Tom Cruise, who you may remember from the original Top Gun—or perhaps from his appearance as Jack in Ridley Scott’s Legend?

There at the request of Admiral “Iceman” Kazansky—at least his career arc makes sense—Maverick is to instruct the latest crop of revved-up, cocksure pilots, who include the likes of Goose’s son “Rooster” (Miles Teller) and “Hangman” (Glen Powell).

Naturally, the devil-may-care Maverick doesn’t consider himself a teacher and quips that he wants to “manage expectations.”

But the stakes are much higher this time, with Maverick and his crew setting out on a mission that involves, according to Hangman, “combat on a level no living pilot’s ever seen”—including Maverick.

“The sequel also looks poised to deliver plenty of nostalgia for fans of the original,” our corporate sibling Military Times wrote back in 2019. “Back are daring flight maneuvers, leather jackets, aviator sunglasses, another round of shirtless beach sports, and of course, Tom Cruise once again going sans helmet on his motorcycle.”

So, barring any more COVID-19-related delays, audiences should be feeling the need for speed, very, very soon.

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