‘Top Gun 2’ Lands A Writer As The Film Progresses

It's been almost 30 years since Top Gun hit theaters and now we are finally getting a sequel. The original film starred the young Tom Cruise as Maverick, Val Kilmer as Iceman and Anthony Edwards as the loveable Goose. The sequel, Top Gun 2, has been in the works for a few years, but wasn't until this month that there was a writer to go with it.

"Justin Marks, the writer behind Disney's upcoming live-action version of The Jungle Book, in negotiations to work on Top Gun 2," The Hollywood Reporter exclusively learned.

Paramount and Skydance are making the film with producer Jerry Bruckheimer at the helm. This time around Maverick (which will still be played by Tom Cruise) will have his work cut out for him, battling to prove that human pilots are still in demand.

"The concept is, basically, are the pilots obsolete because of drones. Cruise is going to show them that they're not obsolete. They're here to stay," Jerry said in an interview with Huffington Post Live in March.

"It's just getting to the starting place. Fortunately for Tom, he's very busy, so you have to find a slot he can fit into and get a budget that Paramount feels they can make the picture."

Before the team decided on this storyline, numerous people tried to get Top Gun 2 off the ground.

"We've been trying to get that movie made for 30 years, and I think we're getting closer and closer," Jerry told Ricky Camilleri at HuffPost. "Don [Simpson] and I tried to develop something, we didn't succeed. [Tom] Cruise took over, and he tried to develop something, and he didn't succeed. Now we're back at it."

The film's momentum was put on hold in 2012 when Top Gun's original director committed suicide. Now the film is back on track and lead actor Tom Cruise is ready to fly again.

"In Paris in May, Cruise told a reporter when asked about a sequel, 'I would love to fly those jets, the newer ones. That would be so much fun. It would be insane,'" People reported.