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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, JuNE 4, 2022
Skydance Media/Paramount Pictures
Actor Tom Cruise repeatedly flew low and fast over the Cascade Range in a Whidbey Island-based U.S. Navy electronic attack jet during filming of the ‘Top Gun’ sequel.
‘Top Gun’ sequel includes Pacific Northwest scenery
By TOM BANSE
Northwest News Network
The summer movie blockbuster
season has kicked off with the release
of a long-delayed sequel to the 1980s
hit “Top Gun.” And Pacific North-
west moviegoers may recognize
some familiar mountain scenery in
the background.
“Top Gun: Maverick” brings actor
Tom Cruise back to his role as the ace
U.S. Navy fighter pilot.
Cruise reportedly insisted on film-
ing the aerial action in real fighter
jets and rejected where possible using
computer-generated imagery. So,
Paramount Pictures struck a produc-
tion assistance agreement with the
Navy to make it so.
A copy, first obtained by the web-
site The War Zone, shows Cruise and
company set up shop at Naval Air
Station Whidbey Island in Washing-
ton state in March 2019. The Navy
leased out the Officers’ Club on base
for the crew to use for catering, brief-
ings and rehearsals. Cast and crew
were allowed to bunk at an on-base
inn, which provided privacy.
The actors flew eight sorties with
a squadron of two-seater jets. While
experienced Navy pilots were at
the controls, the aerial scenes were
filmed to make it appear Cruise or
his co-stars (always in the back seat)
were actually piloting the powerful
attack aircraft in tight formations.
The short residency of the “Top
Gun” sequel’s cast and crew at the
airfield in Oak Harbor was kept hush-
hush at the time. Paramount gave
the production a code name, “Island
Plaza.” When the local newspaper
sought to confirm rumors of movie
star sightings, Mike Welding, pub-
lic affairs officer for Naval Station
Whidbey Island, would answer no
questions that included the words
“filming” or “Tom Cruise.”
But now the results are on-screen
for all to see. Naval aviators from the
air stations where filming took place
actually got an early peek. Naval
Air Station Whidbey Island hosted
an advance screening on the base in
May.
In the movie, Whidbey Island-
based Navy EA-18 Growler jets fly
fast and low through the Cascade
Mountains, swooping over reser-
voirs, snow-capped ridges and dodg-
ing peaks. In the movie, this climac-
tic footage is presented as the terrain
of a hostile, unnamed rogue nation.
But for those around Washing-
ton state, this scenery is familiar as
the noisy, low-level flight training
routes long used by the military in the
Northwest.
The executive director of the
Washington state film and TV office,
formally known as Washington Film-
works, said “Top Gun: Maverick” did
not receive any state movie produc-
tion incentives. Separately, a film liai-
son for Whidbey and Camano islands
said she provided a modest amount of
assistance helping the crew find lodg-
ing and dining.
Much of the film was shot in Cal-
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ifornia, with additional aerial foot-
age captured at the real-life Top Gun
strike fighter tactics school at Naval
Air Station Fallon in Nevada. The
Navy’s extensive cooperation in the
sequel’s filming is expected to give
the military a significant boost in
recruiting.
“Top Gun: Maverick” is prov-
ing to be an early success. As of last
week, its holds a 97% ranking on
Rotten Tomatoes (and an audience
score of 99%). Cruise also received
a five minute standing ovation at the
film’s screening at the Cannes Film
Festival.
Kenny Loggins wrote songs for
the original “Top Gun” film, which
became radio hits, including “Dan-
ger Zone” and “Playing with the
Boys.” Loggins is originally from
Everett, Washington. He is not listed
in the music credits of the sequel
(Lady Gaga is). But “Danger Zone”
is included on the soundtrack.
KuOW producer dyer Oxley con-
tributed to this report.