An actor who appeared in the original Top Gun film has sued Paramount for using his likeness in the blockbuster sequel.
Barry Tubb played Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe in Tony Scott’s 1986 action movie but said in a lawsuit filed in California that he had not granted the studio permission to use his image in the sequel.
Top Gun: Maverick, which features the return of Tom Cruise as the star of the franchise, was released to widespread acclaim in 2022 and grossed almost $1.5 billion at the box office, shattering expectations.
Tubb, 61, makes a brief appearance in the film when a picture is shown of the fictional Top Gun class of 1986.
It features the original Top Gun stars Cruise, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Tubb.
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In the lawsuit filed on February 21, Tubb says that Paramount’s use of his likeness in the scene is “essential in a way that is not incidental” but he was not consulted or compensated.
He alleges that the studio’s “conduct is therefore misleading and deceptive by falsely and fraudulently representing” Tubb as being affiliated with Top Gun: Maverick.
By using his image without permission Paramount has “utterly deprived” Tubb of the “right and ability to negotiate the price of using his image or, ultimately, to say ‘no’ to its use”, the lawsuit said.
The claim also says that at the time of the original film’s release, sequels in Hollywood were “virtually nonexistent” and neither he nor Paramount contemplated a follow-up when agreeing their contract in the mid-1980s.
Tubb is seeking damages and a jury trial. His lawyers told Fox News he had no interest in issuing a public statement but “believes the lawsuit and the exhibits speak for him”.
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Tubb’s lawyers added: “He’s disappointed that it had to come to this, but trusts that the legal process will produce a just result.”
This is not the first lawsuit related to Top Gun: Maverick.
The family of the journalist whose 1983 magazine article inspired the original film sued Paramount for copyright infringement in June 2022, alleging the studio violated their ownership of the material.
In November a judge rejected Paramount’s attempt to have the case dismissed and court records indicate the parties are entering mediation.
Cruise, meanwhile, is preparing to climb back into the cockpit to reprise his role as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
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A third Top Gun film is in the works, though its release date is unknown.
