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Top Gun: Maverickcame more than three decades after the release of the first film starring Tom Cruise in the lead, and yet, it was as much of a resounding success as the original film from 1986. However, unlike a lot of stuff and people that were brought back from the first movie in this 2022 one, legendary filmmaker Tony Scott wasn’t one because of his devastating demise in 2012.
Since the younger Scott wasn’t there, Cruise reportedly decided to approach the older and equally legendary Scott brother, Ridley Scott, to helm the second movie in his Aviation film series. However, he was surprisingly not only met with a declined request by the iconic director, with the movie going to Joseph Kosinski instead, but was even met with his film being considered mediocre by Ridley!
Tom Cruise Reportedly Approached Ridley Scott forTop Gun: Maverick
Back in 1986,Tony Scottbrought the firstTop Gunmovie distributed by Paramount Pictures to life through a script written byJim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., with Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer producing, and he did an insanely epic job at that.
Although quite a few critics hesitated to pass it on as a masterpiece, the film still went on to gross a stunning $357.46 million on its production budget of a meager $15 million (as perThe Numbers), becoming one of the most successful and biggest fan-favorite movies of that year.
With such an immaculate success, a sequel was obviously greatly expected, andTom Cruise, who starred as the protagonist Maverick in the movie, was approached for the same in 1990. However, the action star, at that time, declined the offer due to his own reasons.
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But fast forward to 20 years later, in 2010, things were about to change. This was because Scott andJerry Bruckheimerpitched a new plot for a sequel to the 1986 masterpiece to Cruise, and the actor agreed to reprise his role this time.
However, the future for this sequel became fuzzy once again as tragedy struck in 2012 with the iconic legend Tony’s death. But Cruise wasn’t one to give up so easily, and, as per@ATRightMovies on X, the person he approached to helm the movie was none other than Tony’s brother Ridley.
In looking for a director, Cruise met with Ridley Scott (Tony’s brother), who politely declined. Martin Campbell, Joe Johnston and Simon West also met with Cruise, but all turned the chance to direct down too.
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— All The Right Movies (@ATRightMovies)July 31, 2025
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Yet, theMission: Impossibleactor was only met with some sour luck asRidley Scottpolitely declined to do the project. But finally, after a lot of searching and meeting up with multiple other directors, Cruise finally met his match with Joseph Kosinski.
The rest was history, as fans already know how perfectly theObliviondirectorJoseph Kosinskiended up helmingTop Gun: Maverick, considering how it not only became a massive fan-favorite with its release but even scored a 96% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Not only that, but this sequel’s box office numbers from its grossing worldwide were equally satisfying considering how it made a whopping $1.46 billion on its production budget of $170 million, according to the figures listed byThe Numbers.
And yet, Ridley Scott still didn’t find the movie good enough.
Ridley Scott Publicly Expressed His Disapproval ofTop Gun: Maverick
Whiledeclining to make a moviehis late brother pitched was one thing, Ridley didn’t even hesitate to let his feelings known on the sequel after it was released. And, surprisingly enough, his reviews were anything but good even though heseeminglyrespected the movie.
According to what filmmaker Fede Álvarez shared at theDGA Latino Summit 2023while talking to fellow director Guillermo del Toro:
I asked him about the new ‘Top Gun’ and he’s like ‘meh.’
Obviously, this response had even theDon’t Breathedirector dumbfounded because he wasn’t expecting to receive such a review on such a critically acclaimed movie.
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AsFede Álvarezcontinued to reveal the rest of his conversation:
I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And he was like, ‘My brother’s was original and this is like eh.’ He really respected it, but you could see how tough he was. So I was like, ‘There’s no way I win this one.’
Well, for what it’s worth, the story for this sequel was also pitched by Tony Scott, so considering itnota part of his legacy would be offending. At the same time, theAliendirector is renowned for being one of the biggest critics in the industry, sohe must have a reason behind his decisionas well.
Nonetheless, you can watchTop GunandTop Gun: Maverickon Paramount+.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
