For almost two years now, fans have been anticipating the release of the sequel to Tom Cruise’s well-known movie, “Top Gun.” After originally being scheduled for release in July of 2019, the movie has been delayed four times with the hope that it will be available for public viewing in May 2022.  After the delayed release date was announced, Tom Cruise briefly shared this input on social media: “I know many of you have waited 34 years. Unfortunately, it will be a little longer. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ will fly this December. Stay safe, everyone.” It is clear that “Top Gun: Maverick” will unfortunately not be taking flight this December, having fans question whether this movie will continue to be pushed back because of the pandemic or be released by Paramount Pictures’ promised deadline.

Over the past year, fans have been questioning the decision to delay “Top Gun: Maverick” repeatedly when a vast majority of other movies being produced have been released during the pandemic. It is no secret that large-scale production movies such as “Top Gun” itself serve as very profitable films for production companies and distributors. In fact, within the last year, top movies such as “James Bond: No Time To Die,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” and “Fast and Furious 9,” among others, have all been released, however none with as high of a profit estimate as “Top Gun: Maverick“. CNBC reports, “Films like ‘”Top Gun: Maverick”’ would in normal times hope to approach as much as $1 billion in the worldwide box office.” The only way producers would hope to reach this profit goal would be to continue to hold out until the movie industry is impacted the least by COVID-19. 

What does this mean for fans? Many followers of “Top Gun” have begun to grow restless, becoming unconvinced the movie will actually be released within the next year. 

Many comments expressing similar sentiments have begun to arise on social media. Although we may not see our favorite pilot up in the sky this year, there is a good chance our beloved Maverick will be taking flight on the big screen next May. For now, there is only one thing left to do, and that is to wait.