The actor posted a picture of himself back in U.S. Air Force gear and looking at his character's F-14A Tomcat plane.
- June 1, 2018
AceShowbiz - Tom Cruise has hinted he has started filming hotly anticipated air force action sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Fans of the 1986 military drama, in which Tom played hotshot pilot Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, have long demanded a follow-up - and the star teased the new movie on Twitter on May 30, by posting a picture of himself back in U.S. Air Force gear and looking at his character's F-14A Tomcat plane.
Beneath the image, which also includes the words "Feel the need" - a famous line from the first film - he simply wrote "#Day1", indicating that filming has already begun.
Last year, the original's producer Jerry Bruckheimer, announced Oblivion filmmaker Joseph Kosinski would direct. Harold Faltermeyer, who created Top Gun's iconic synthesiser score, is also returning.
Val Kilmer, who played Maverick's rival Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky in the first film, has also teased he'd like to come back - although he is yet to be confirmed as a member of the cast.
The project has long been in the pipeline but was delayed by the death of the original movie's director, Tony Scott, in 2012.
However, Skydance Media founder David Ellison revealed in 2015 that development was continuing and divulged some plot details.
He explained that the second film would be set in the present day and explore the implications of drone warfare.
David told Collider: "It is very much a world we live in today where it's drone technology, and fifth-generation fighters are really what the United States Navy is calling the last man-made fighter that we're actually going to produce, so it's really exploring the 'end of an era' of dogfighting and fighter pilots and what that culture is today."
Top Gun: Maverick is set for release in July 2019, a year after Tom's latest action blockbuster Mission: Impossible - Fallout hits cinemas.
