Christopher McQuarrie says the role of ‘Maverick’ in the possible Top Gun sequel is the main lead

Over the last couple of weeks, reports have appeared online about Paramount’s newly kick-started development on TOP GUN 2. The first talked about who was being perused for the sequel. Namely, original director Tony Scott, writer Christopher McQuarrie, and of course, Tom Cruise, in what sources over at Vulture said to be “a smaller role” at the time.

Then just a couple of days ago, Tony Scott opened his mouth and declared not only his interest in returning for another TOP GUN, but his ideas on what he thought that film might be about. And what was that? Essentially, geeks controlling unmanned aircrafts and how that change in our Air Force’s operations came about. Together, these reports brought about some doubt as to how prominent the role of ‘Maverick’ might even be.

But today, McQuarrie himself dropped a very quick line to Vulture, correcting the earlier report indicating that ‘Maverick’ wouldn’t be the primary part:

“There is no Top Gun 2 in which Maverick is not the starring role.”

Good! It seems like a no-brainer considering TOP GUN is practically synonymous with Cruise’s name. And judging from all the reader responses, a Cruise-less or even just a minimized Cruise presence would seriously taint the appeal of a sequel.

My question, though – Is that story idea Scott talked about the same as what McQuarrie is writing? Have the two been in talks? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.