Unveiled on Sep. 12, 2018 the pictures in this post could depict the F/A-18F Super Hornet flown by Pete Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick.

According to Revenge Of The Fans “These pictures give us a bit of the aesthetics that will be used in the film. The plane already looks good, and that is an unpolished set pic. It will look even better when presented in the way the filmmakers want us to see it. The man in the photo is the one who did the paint job on the plane. Filming is expected to start at the end of this month.”

Noteworthy as we have recently reported the highly anticipated sequel to 1986’s classic/action drama starring Tom Cruise as a U.S. Naval Aviator has been delayed a year to summer 2020.

The movie was assigned a theatrical release date of Jul. 12, 2019 last year, but unfortunately for eager fans, they’ll have to wait quite a while longer to see Cruise’s titular character take to the skies once again. Paramount in fact has delayed the sequel nearly an entire year, assigning it a new release date of Jun. 26, 2020.

The added production time will enable the filmmakers to properly coordinate and design the many breathtaking aerial sequences planned to be part of the sequel. Considering how well-remembered Top Gun’s flight scenes are today, it’s no surprise that those involved with Maverick intend for the sequel to up the ante in terms of aerial artistry, especially with how much special effects have advanced since 1986.

Top Gun: Maverick will likely feature the Navy’s new Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters alongside older Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

Last month in fact, a film crew from Paramount Pictures was aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) the same time the Navy began launching F-35C jets off the ship interchangeably with F/A-18E/F Super Hornets as an integrated air wing.

Tom Cruise teased the start of filming on the long-awaited Top Gun sequel on May 31, 2018with a tweet featuring an image of an older Capt. Pete Mitchell standing in a flight suit with his famous HGU-33 helmet (that wore to fly his F-14A Tomcat) in hand.

The movie starring Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer is looking to cast the son of Maverick’s Radar Intercept Officer (RIO), Goose (played by Anthony Edwards in the original). Top Gun: Maverick will also see Kenny Loggins re-recording ‘Danger Zone’ for the movie.

This first appeared in Aviation Geek Club here.