Tom Cruise Had A Grand Ol’ Time Filming The ‘Most Extreme’ (And Dangerous) Scene In ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Top Gun: Maverick came out in late May, but as of last weekend, the year’s highest-grossing movie is still playing in more than 650 theaters across the United States. Such is the power of Tom Cruise risking his life in increasingly elaborate stunts for our entertainment. Does he have to do it No. Should he stop Also no.

Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski spoke to Empire about what he calls the “most extreme thing we shot in the film,” the Star Wars-like trench run. The jet was flown by Navy pilot Frank “Walleye” Weisser, but Cruise was along for the ride. “It’s all in-camera, it’s Tom Cruise at 550 knots, going 30 feet above ground through the Toiyabe [Canyon] low-level training grounds. That’s a real Top Gun training thing.”

After the scene was finished and the plane landed, Walleye came over to Kosinski asked, “Did you get it” He did. “Good,” Walleye replied, “because I’m never doing that again.” But Cruise “would have done it 100 more times!” Kosinski said. “In fact, I smile because when I watch that sequence, he’s wincing through the Gs, but I know under the mask he’s smiling for most of it, because he’s having the time of his life.”

Just wait until Cruise walks through space.