Top Gun: Maverick Director Addresses That Grim Fan Theory

Joseph Kosinski confirms that the Top Gun sequel is not Maverick's dying dream.

By Nicole Drum

When Top Gun: Maverick was released in 2022, while the film was a massive success and fans were thrilled to see Top Gun return to the big screen as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a grim theory soon began to make the rounds. Per the rather macabre fan theory, all the action in Top Gun: Maverick after the film's Mach 10 flight in the opening sequence — a flight that saw Maverick eject from his failing "Darkstar" aircraft at the edge of space — is just fantasy of Cruise's hero as he's dying. Now, the film's director Joseph Kosinski is addressing the theory and it turns out that there was never a consideration that Maverick was dead. Instead, the original version of the film followed Maverick all the way down as he fell to earth.

"The original version of the script we actually followed Maverick in his freefall back to Earth, which would have I guess debunked that theory," Kosinski told Happy Sad Confused's Josh Horowitz. "It was a pretty spectacular sequence imagining what it's like to reenter from space in your spacesuit."

He went on to add that he's not bothered by the fan theory and instead, appreciates it as art is meant to be interpreted and there are multiple ways to read things.

"I love it. Film is meant to be interpreted. I love that there's multiple ways to read it. It's, you know, hopefully it's a piece of art meant to be interpreted, and I love people reading those things into it. It's like The Big Lebowski Theory that Johnny's not really there so, no, I welcome that," he said."

What Specifically Is The Top Gun: Maverick Fan Theory?

The specifics of the grim fan theory are that Maverick did not survive his ejection from the Darkstar as the odds of surviving an ejection from an aircraft going 10 times the speed of sound are incredibly low. Proponents of this theory point to the fact that when we see Maverick after he's landed back on Earth, he's dirty but doesn't have any broken bones or major injuries, something that one would expect given such a fall. Fans also point to the appearance of Iceman (Val Kilmer) and specifically his advice to move on from the guilt and trauma he's been carrying as another clue that Maverick is dying and preparing to go into the afterlife — the guilt and trauma in question being connected to Goose's death in the first film. Some fans also suggest that is why Rooster (Miles Teller) is so like Goose in the film — he's a manifestation of Maverick's guilt. Other fans also point to the complicated mission dealing with an unnamed nation as being deliberately vague because it's part of a dying man's dream and therefore, not real.

Could There Be a Top Gun 3?

While there have been reports that a third Top Gun movie is in the works, Kosinski has said that he's not officially heard word that a third film is happening and that he would only return if there was a good enough story reason to do so.

"I haven't," Kosinski revealed. "I mean, listen — I can't help myself, as you're about to go to sleep at night, the brain dreams. And of course, you can't help but think: if there was another one, what would that story be? How could we possibly — what's the emotional reason to bring Maverick back? What's the challenge? Having done this, how could you possibly push it further enough that there is a challenge there, to go beyond. So, of course, you think about those things. But for me, I've got this F1 movie in front of me right now. I'm developing some other things. Tom [Cruise] is off shooting another Mission, and possibly going to space. So, we've all got very ambitious things ahead of ourselves."

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"It took 36 years for Maverick, it could take 36 years for the next one," Kosinski added.

What do you think? Are you a fan of the grim Top Gun: Maverick theory? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

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