It’s finally here – after years of delays Top Gun: Maverick finally hits theatres today. While the movie centres around a maturing Maverick (Tom Cruise) and his relationship with Goose’s son Rooster (Miles Teller), one of the movie’s best roles goes to the up-and-coming Glen Powell. He plays Hangman, a brash Top Gun pilot and Rooster’s main rival. Some are comparing him to Iceman (Val Kilmer), but in reality, he’s a lot more like Maverick himself.
According to Powell, who we were lucky enough to land an exclusive interview with, this was all by design. Powell actually auditioned to play Rooster, but in the end, his presence and charisma with Cruise led to the filmmakers creating this new role in order to take advantage of his star quality. For Powell, who happens to be an aviator in real life, Top Gun: Maverick was a passion project in that it’s one of the few Hollywood movies to actually evoke the physical challenge of flying a jet while also eschewing CGI and pricey tricks. It’s an old-school blockbuster that both pays homage to the 1986 original but also does its own thing.
In our interview, Powell weighs in on the film’s first screening at CinemaCon, his offscreen relationship with Cruise and the intensity of the training Cruise made everyone go through before they started filming. It’s a great interview, and Powell is a likable guy who, ever since his breakout in Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some, seems on the cusp of superstardom. Top Gun: Maverick should elevate him to another level entirely. Check out the interview above and make sure to see Top Gun: Maverick in theatres on the biggest and best screen you can find. If any film ever deserved to be seen in theaters, this is the one.
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