Top Gun: Maverick new footage shows Tom Cruise pushed to physical limit

Tom Cruise and other Top Gun: Maverick cast members are pushed to their physical limit — and in some cases look like they’re about to vomit — in new footage that shows how the flying sequences are filmed.

The behind-the-scenes featurette above shows how director Joseph Kosinski staged some of the fighter pilot footage, with the team putting six IMAX-quality cameras in the cockpit. There’s a series of shots showing the cast being put through some grueling training courtesy of the U.S. Navy, and concludes with Cruise seemingly struggling to stay conscious during one dizzying maneuver over a snowy cannon.

“You can’t fake that, the distortion in the face, they’re pulling 8 Gs — that’s 1,600 pounds of force and I’m so proud of them,” Cruise says.

Top Gun: Maverick recently released its first full trailer.

The sequel picks up decades after the 1986 blockbuster. Cruise reprises his role as hotshot pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, now a captain and teaching a new generation of aviators how to dogfight. Miles Teller co-stars as Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, a pilot trainee, and the son of Maverick’s late friend, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw. The film also stars Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer (reprising his role as Iceman).

Top Gun: Maverick hits theaters on June 26, 2020.

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