Top Gun: Maverick Director Accidentally Saw Something Classified While Prepping Movie

By Jamie Jirak

Top Gun: Maverick was a huge success last year, earning $1 billion at the box office and becoming a big hit on Paramount+ while also breaking some DVD and Blu-ray sales records. The process of making the long-awaited sequel was intense, and director Joseph Kosinski has shared some interesting behind-the-scenes stories, including how the movie's Darkstar sequence could have resulted in international espionage. Turns out, there were some other shocking things that happened during the production, including Kosinski accidentally seeing something classified.

"I was building model airplanes, really complex radio-controlled airplanes, and flying them around," Kosinski told Deadline. "The first thing I did after getting this job was, I flew out to the Teddy Roosevelt aircraft carrier. I jumped on a Greyhound, which is not the fast jet, but I did get to fly out there and catch the cable, and then I got the catapult launch off the jet. When you're directing the film, you kind of get to become a 'subject matter expert', which is the Navy term-the SME-on any subject you want. So, I got to live that dream of being in the Navy for a couple years. I got to go to places that civilians don't get to go to. I got to see things that no civilian would get to see. I had my camera confiscated at one point. Wiped clean. I took some pictures and maybe captured something I wasn't supposed to capture, and my camera was quickly returned to me without any photos on it. I got to go to China Lake and shoot in a hangar that is top secret. And it was all in this quest for authenticity. And I think you feel it when you see it, because you don't feel like you're in a Hollywood-designed setting. There's a reality to it. We collaborated with the actual engineers who make the real secret aircraft. It was just a dream come true."

Will There Be a Top Gun 3?

In addition to its box office success, Top Gun: Maverick earned an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score with a 96% critics rating and a 99% audience rating. Now, fans want to know if there will be a Top Gun 3. While there are no current plans, Kosinski recently spoke at Deadline's Contenders LA3C panel and addressed the possibility of another film.

"Is there another story that is compelling enough that we need to go back?" Kosinski asked. "It seems to me at the end of this film that Maverick has some gas left in the tank. He's not settling down." 

Top: Gun Maverick is now streaming on Paramount+. 

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