Epic Top Gun: Maverick Scene Was Actually An Accident

More than three decades after the original, Top Gun finally got a sequel and it’s fair to say its exceeded all expectations. You can check out the trailer here: 

Top Gun: Maverick has been hailed as better than the original and has smashed numerous box office records for star Tom Cruise. 

Now, Ed Harris has revealed that one of the movie’s coolest scenes was actually a total accident. 

The scene in question takes place near the start of the movie, when Captain Pete 'Maverick’ Mitchell (played by Cruise) decides to test out the experimental hypersonic plane Darkstar, despite the project having its funding shelved by the Navy’s Rear Admiral Chester Cain (played by Harris). 

Cain arrives at the base just as Darkstar is set to take off on its unauthorised test flight and is there at the exact moment the plane blows the roof clean off the guard station he’s standing next to. 

Paramount Picture Studios

But Harris has revealed the shot almost didn’t happen, because no one had actually planned on the station’s roof collapsing. 

Harris told USA Today: “It blew the roof off the guard station. It was a fun scene with the jet roaring over my head. I was just holding my ground knowing what to expect. It’s really impressive seeing this jet coming at you from so far away and just flying right over your head…

“It was cool. These guys are professional pilots. I knew they weren’t going to run into me or anything.”

Meanwhile, director Joseph Kosinski has praised Harris for his performance in the scene, telling The New York Times: “The set was destroyed by the pressure wave. That is Ed Harris taking a pressure wave to the face. It’s not a stuntman.” Fair play. 

Alongside Cruise and Harris, the movie stars Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm. It also stars Miles Teller as Lt. Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s deceased pal Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw. 

Paramount Pictures

Since landing in cinemas its racked up rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. 

On IMDb, Top Gun: Maverick has an impressive 8.6 out of 10, while on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 97 percent critic score and a near perfect 99 percent audience rating. 

It’s also been a huge commercial success, with an opening weekend of $124 million (£98m) in the US and $248 million (£196m) at the worldwide box office.

If you fancy checking out for yourself, Top Gun: Maverick is screening in cinemas now.

Topics: Tom Cruise, Top Gun, TV and Film

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]