'Top Gun 2' sequel news: No CGI, just pure dogfighting and drones

Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun Paramount Pictures

"Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," the fifth installment in the action spy films starring Tom Cruise, raked in $56 million on its debut weekend. Cruise will be back as Ethan Hunt for the sixth film in the "M:I" series, but there's word he will first take flight as hotshot fighter pilot Maverick in "Top Gun 2." 

According to VC Post, Cruise's return is guaranteed as long as CGI won't be used in the film.

"It would be fun. I would like to get back into those jets," he said in an interview with Reuters. However, he emphasized, "I don't want any CGI jets. I want to shoot it like how we shot the first one." 

Producer and Skydance CEO David Ellison is more than willing to forgo the technology, saying that the long-awaited sequel will focus on drone and new-generation fighters. In an interview with Collider, Ellison broached the evolving world of dogfighting, which has yet to be explored. 

"What's interesting about it is that it's not a world that exists to the same degree when the original movie came out," he explained.

That said, he revealed that a world with drone technology and fifth-generation fighters, recognized as the last man-made fighter, will be the theme for "Top Gun 2." 

To translate Ellison's vision of this updated world, Justin Marks was tapped to pen the screenplay. Back in June, the writer was said to have started working on it already. Jerry Bruckheimer is reportedly returning as producer for "Top Gun 2." To complement Cruise's visualization for the sequel, there are reports it will be released in IMAX and in 3D. 

The film is currently in development although it is too early to get information on the release date. For now, Cruise's fans can catch the actor pull off some death-defying stunts in "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation." 

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