Trigger Warning! This article includes a discussion of self-harm.
Filmmaker Ridley Scott revealed why he turned down the offer to direct Top Gun: Maverick. Ridley Scott’s late brother, Tony Scott, directed the first Top Gun movie, which was released in 1986. Tony Scott committed suicide in 2012. Decades after the original, Joseph Kosinski directed the legacy sequel Top Gun: Maverick, which saw the return of Tom Cruise’s Pete Mitchell and opened to outstanding reviews and worldwide praise.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ridley Scott reveals that he chose not to direct Top Gun: Maverick because he didn’t want to make the follow-up to his brother’s original movie. The acclaimed director then explained how the genres of films he and his brother directed were often very different. Read Scott’s full quote below:
No. They asked me to [direct] it and I said, ‘I don’t want to follow my brother.’ Tony was always interested in today. A lot of my stuff is either historic, fantasy or science fiction. Tony didn’t like fantasy — things like
Alien
or
Blade Runner
or
Legend
.
What Ridley Scott Turning Down The Directing Role Meant For Top Gun: Maverick
Even Without Ridley Scott, Top Gun: Maverick Was A Massive Success
In addition to Top Gun, Tony Scott also collaborated with Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder. Ridley Scott also worked with the actor on the 1985 film Legend, which he mentions in the interview. Ridley Scott directing Top Gun: Maverick would have been very exciting, especially since he is recognized as one of the best directors of all time. However, since Ridley Scott declined the offer to direct Top Gun 2, the studio had to go in another direction.
Paramount is now developing
Top Gun 3
, which currently does not have a release date.
Paramount Pictures ultimately ended up hiring Joseph Kosinski, who previously worked with Tom Cruise on the 2013 science fiction film Oblivion, to direct Top Gun 2. Ridley Scott turning down the job did not end up being a problem for anyone involved in the sequel, since Top Gun: Maverick broke box office records, has an incredible score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and was nominated for Best Picture. However, Top Gun: Maverick would likely have been a very different movie if Ridley Scott was behind the camera.
Our Take On Ridley Scott Turning Down Top Gun: Maverick
Ridley Scott Likely Made The Right Choice
While Joseph Kosinski did an amazing job directing Top Gun: Maverick, it would have been interesting to see how Ridley Scott would have built on his brother’s work. However, it is touching that Ridley did not want to touch one of Tony’s most iconic movies. It’s possible that Ridley Scott signing on for a Top Gun sequel would have overshadowed his brother’s work on the original film, so it is heartwarming to know that Tony Scott will always be the only Scott brother in the Top Gun franchise.
Source: THR
Top Gun: Maverick is the sequel to the 1986 original film starring Tom Cruise as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a top-tier pilot in the Navy. Thirty years after the original film’s events, Maverick is asked to head up a section of the TOP GUN program to embark on a dangerous mission. Things become personal when the program includes the son of Maverick’s late friend, forcing him to confront his past.
- Director
- Joseph Kosinski
- Release Date
- May 27, 2022
- Cast
- Tom Cruise , Miles Teller , Jennifer Connelly , Val Kilmer , Jay Ellis , Jon Hamm , Bashir Salahuddin , Charles Parnell , Lewis Pullman , Glen Powell , Monica Barbaro , Ed Harris
- Runtime
- 130 Minutes
- Budget
- $170 Million
- Writers
- Ashley Miller , Justin Marks , Peter Craig , Zack Stentz
- Franchise(s)
- Top Gun
