Tom Cruise is going back to the danger zone of Top Gun.
The star confirmed Tuesday during an Australian TV interview that he will begin shooting the much-discussed sequel to the 1986 classic Top Gun.
"It's true," Cruise repeated to the apparently surprised newscaster. "I'm going to start probably in the next year. I know, it's happening. It's definitely happening.
"You're the first people I've said it to, you asked me and so I'm telling you," the star added.
WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE: @TomCruise just confirmed that Top Gun 2 is happening! "I’m gonna start filming it probably in the next year". #sun7 pic.twitter.com/X17xvxz4Q4
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 23, 2017
No further details were given. The Top Gun sequel has long been a goal for producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Cruise, who shot to international stardom as hot-shot pilot Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.
The highest-grossing film of 1986, directed by Tony Scott, features a who's who of the biggest stars of that next decade: Cruise; Anthony Edwards as sidekick Nick "Goose" Bradshaw; Kelly McGillis as Cruise's love interest, defense contractor Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood; Val Kilmer as Cruise's nemesis, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky; and Meg Ryan as Edwards' young wife. There are even scenes with a young fighter pilot played by Tim Robbins.
Bruckheimer's decades-long quest for the sequel seemed to get jet boosters in January 2016 after he tweeted a photo of himself with Cruise when they met to discuss the project.
The duo threw out ideas with Jungle Book screenwriter Justin Marks for a new story centered around a now-senior Maverick.