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The Rewatchables · July 12, 2022

Top Gun: Maverick

host Bill Simmons host Chris Ryan producer Craig Horlbeck

What aged best: Jennifer Connelly, practical flying and measured callbacks
Casting what-if: Nicholas Hoult and Glen Powell for Rooster
Weakest link: The underused supporting pilots

All 35 categories

Just one Oscar Joseph Kosinski
Dion Waiters Award Val Kilmer, over Hondo
“That Guy” Award Charles Parnell as Warlock
Overacting Award Glen Powell

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award · 1:12:38

Allison Willmore’s Maverick death-dream interpretation

Bill Simmons: The hosts credit Allison Willmore at Vulture for the theory

Bill Simmons: Maverick dies in the opening flight and the rest resolves his unfinished relationships

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson · 1:47:17

It’s the pilot, not the plane

Bill Simmons: The pilot-over-equipment lesson is preferred

The film

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski · Action

130 minutes [ 1 ]

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Tom Cruise Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

Miles Teller Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw

Jennifer Connelly Penelope "Penny" Benjamin

Jon Hamm Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson

Glen Powell LT Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Ed Harris Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain

Val Kilmer Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky

Lewis Pullman LT Robert "Bob" Floyd

Charles Parnell Rear Admiral Solomon "Warlock" Bates

Bashir Salahuddin Chief Warrant Officer Four Bernie "Hondo" Coleman

Monica Barbaro LT Natasha "Phoenix" Trace

Jay Ellis LT Reuben "Payback" Fitch

Danny Ramirez LT Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia

Greg Tarzan Davis LT Javy "Coyote" Machado

Manny Jacinto LT Billy "Fritz" Avalone

Raymond Lee LT Logan "Yale" Lee

Jake Picking LT Brigham "Harvard" Lennox

Jack Schumacher LT Neil "Omaha" Vikander

Kara Wang LT Callie "Halo" Bassett

Lyliana Wray Amelia Benjamin

Jean Louisa Kelly Sarah Kazansky

James Handy Jimmy

Chido Nwokocha Mission Controller

Chelsea Harris Admiral's Aide

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

1:17:05

Casting What-Ifs

Nicholas Hoult and Glen Powell for Rooster

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:17:05Read transcript

Hoult, Powell and Teller reportedly attended chemistry tests with Cruise — Bill Simmons
Teller was selected — Bill Simmons
Lewis Pullman is identified as Bill Pullman’s son — Bill Simmons

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1:20:03

Recasting Couch

Jenna Ortega or Sydney Sweeney as Phoenix

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:20:03Read transcript

Jenna Ortega is proposed for Phoenix — Bill Simmons
Sydney Sweeney is another proposal, including a car-restoration conversation with Penny — Bill Simmons
Chris offers no recasting choice — Bill Simmons

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1:20:47

Half-Assed Internet Research

Cruise’s earlier refusal, cockpit filming and a beach-scene reshoot

In the discussion (13)

Approx. transcript time · 01:20:47Read transcript

Cruise reportedly dismissed a sequel as irresponsible in 1990 — Bill Simmons
Kosinski pitched the Rooster relationship and Darkstar storyline to Cruise — Bill Simmons
A professor’s records research is cited about military input in the film — Bill Simmons
The hosts report hourly Navy aircraft fees — Bill Simmons
Actors handled aspects of makeup and camera operation while airborne — Bill Simmons
They note that extensive practical filming does not make all mission details realistic — Bill Simmons
The flight-jacket Taiwan/China flag controversy is briefly discussed without resolving every claim — Bill Simmons
Cruise’s own P-51 appears in the final flight — Bill Simmons
The beach montage was reportedly reshot after Cruise found the first version insufficient — Bill Simmons
The cast reportedly returned to training after celebrating the original shoot — Bill Simmons
The sailing sequence reportedly used a J-125 in San Francisco Bay without doubles — Bill Simmons
Bruckheimer restored a Don Simpson credit as a tribute — Bill Simmons
Teller reportedly learned the piano performance — Bill Simmons

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1:33:05

Picking Nits

The convenient escape, lack of casualties and impossible crash

In the discussion (12)

Approx. transcript time · 01:33:05Read transcript

Cyclone’s decisions are jokingly suspected of sabotage — Chris Ryan
Rooster’s age and delayed training are worked through — Chris Ryan
The younger pilots seem to have almost no personal lives — Chris Ryan
The two downed pilots land conveniently close to each other and a usable airstrip — Chris Ryan
An operational familiar F-14 makes their escape convenient — Chris Ryan
Maverick dying while saving Rooster might have supplied a powerful ending — Chris Ryan
The forest escape feels like a tonal shift — Chris Ryan
The hosts argue for at least one meaningful pilot death, proposing Phoenix and Bob — Chris Ryan
Maverick’s age as an active pilot is questioned — Chris Ryan
Opening-flight survival and lack of medical aftermath are criticized — Chris Ryan
Rooster returning safely through the defended valley is unexplained — Chris Ryan
The final hangar scene raises a question about Rooster living with Maverick — Chris Ryan

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1:42:49

Probably Unanswerable Questions

The unnamed enemy and alternative readings of Maverick

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:42:49Read transcript

Which real country best fits the mission’s fictional opponent? — Bill Simmons
Iran and North Korea are suggested without treating either as identified in the film — Bill Simmons
Do Cruise’s stunt choices suggest a death wish? This is host speculation, not a personal-health finding — Bill Simmons
The hosts discuss a queer reading of the fictional Maverick based on relationships and recurring imagery — Bill Simmons
The imagined Maverick/Rooster domestic arrangement extends the joke — Bill Simmons