The success of Top Gun: Maverick was a huge surprise to many people, but the sequel’s opening credits immediately proved they were handling the long-awaited follow-up perfectly. Top Gun 2 had a long road to its record-breaking theatrical run. Along with it being nearly 40 years after the original hit theaters, the movie also faced a number of delays due to reshoots and the COVID lockdown. However, the movie proved to be worth the wait as it was hailed by critics with a mᴀssive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and became a box office sensation with nearly $1.5 billion earned worldwide (via Box Office Mojo).
While the original Top Gun is a classic in the eyes of many fans, Top Gun: Maverick‘s success surpᴀssed it in every way. However, it was a sequel that also knew what fans loved about the original while also being willing to stand on its own. The long wait fans of the original had to endure was almost immediately proven to be worth it as the opening credits for Top Gun 2 perfectly showed the sequel’s brilliant approach.
Top Gun: Maverick’s Opening Credits Embraced The Original Movie’s Legacy
Top Gun 2 Faithfully Recreates The Original’s Opening
The opening credits for Top Gun: Maverick start things off in the best way possible by recreating the opening credits from the original in a beautiful homage. As soon as the first credits begin, the font that appears on-screen immediately took me back to the original movie with the exact same look in its opening credits. This is added to by the gradual building of the iconic score by composer Harold Faltermeyer. This is followed by the exact opening test that leads into the тιтle card, which reads:
“On March 3, 1969, the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to ensure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN.”
The text is followed by new footage of crews working on aircraft carriers, mirroring similar footage used in the original movie. What makes the familiarity of these opening moments so fun is that the audience knows what comes next as one of the planes shoots off the deck of the carrier at incredible speed as the famous Top Gun song “Danger Zone” from Kenny Loggins kicks on, just as it did in the original. It is a pitch-perfect welcome back to this world.
Top Gun: Maverick’s Atтιтude Toward Its Legacy Was A Big Reason Behind Its Success
Top Gun 2 Found A Balance Between Honoring The Original And Being Its Own Story
Top Gun: Maverick‘s opening credit scene is a great way of showing that the sequel is not afraid of its legacy, and it is that approach that made the sequel such a runaway success. While fans had been ready for a sequel for a long time, there was a sense that the first Top Gun was so entrenched in its ’80s feel that it wouldn’t translate well into the 21st century. Even the first movie’s depiction of military fighter pilots was a largely outdated concept by the time Top Gun 2 arrived.
Had Top Gun 2 simply stuck to its devoted outlook on the original past the opening credits, it would never have been as good of a movie as it turned out to be.
The opening credits proved that Top Gun 2 wasn’t going to ignore the movie that came before and try to distance itself. It was going to embrace the iconic nature ᴀssociated with Top Gun and be willing to recreate some moments that might feel cheesy now. “Danger Zone” is a hard song to take seriously outside of the goofy earnestness of the original Top Gun, but when it plays in the Top Gun 2 credits, it is like a nice reᴀssurance that things are still the same.
However, had Top Gun 2 simply stuck to its devoted outlook on the original past the opening credits, it would never have been as good of a movie as it turned out to be. There have been many sequels that are far too interested in just redoing the original and end up feeling pointless. With the homage to the original out of the way immediately, Top Gun 2 starts its own path.
The sequel does pay homage to the original beyond the opening credits, like the famous Top Gun 2 volleyball scene and the moment of Maverick racing down the runway on his motorcycle. However, it also builds a more effective story than the original. The scene between Maverick and Iceman is more emotional than anything in the original. Maverick’s romance with Penny is better than his one with Charlie. Most importantly, the dynamic with Rooster is the compelling heart of the story.
Top Gun: Maverick‘s opening credits celebrate the original movie and its incredible legacy. However, its success is due to its willingness to balance that legacy with something new and exciting.
