'Top Gun 2' Release Date, Cast & News Update: Tom Cruise Open to Reprise Maverick Role, Says No to CGI on Jets

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After successfully reprising his role as agent Ethan Hunt in "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nations," it looks like Tom Cruise is open to revive an iconic character once more, this time from the film that launched his career to box-office stardom.

The 1986 blockbuster film "Top Gun" sequel is in the works, Reuters reports, and from what Cruise said during the fifth Mission Impossible movie premier in London, he is more than willing to play US Navy pilot Maverick. He has also been quoted saying, "It would have to be practical. I don't want any CGI jets. I want to shoot it like how we shot the first one."

Known for doing his own stunts, the 53-year-old actor has performed a range of death-defying stunts like swinging off buildings, leaping from moving cars and jumping off skyscrapers. He has also been reported to hold onto the side of a plane that was about to take off for his movie "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nations."

The Mirror UK writes that "Top Gun 2" is already under development by Paramount and Skydance, and screenwriter Justin Marks has been tapped to write the script. According to Skydance CEO David Ellison, the plot will be centered on drone technology and how it affects the jobs and lives of modern fighter pilots. He has also hinted that Maverick will be played by the original Maverick and this is probably where Cruise had the inspiration to comment that he wanted no CGI jets for the sequel.

Top Gun has been the highest-earning film of 1986 after its $350 million sales and has catapulted not only Cruise's career but also paved ways for his costars Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards. Even the song Take My Breath Away by Berlin has made it to the top chart hits, which has helped it win an Oscar for Best Original Song.

Last year, Huffington Post has released a video through HuffPost Live, showing Jerry Bruckheimer's interview for his book "When Lightning Strikes, Four Decades of Filmmaking." In the interview, Bruckheimer has said he and Don Simpson have always wanted to do a Top Gun sequel for the last 30 years but it was the late Tony Scott who was able to come up with a story, stating that the concept will revolve around how drones had made jet fighter pilots obsolete. They have wanted Cruise to star in the film and prove to the new generation how important it is to have human intervention.