Top Gun fans can rejoice as a brand new series has been unveiled by National Geographic.
Top Guns: The Next Generation will follow an elite class of student pilots at the Navy and Marine Corps as they undergo the “most demanding phase of strike fighter training”, with their program including “punishing” aerial drills and “nail-biting” carrier landings.
Naturally, the group will participate in the franchise’s trademark dogfights, with each student hoping to earn their “wings of gold”. Featuring “cinematic aerial sequences”, the program has been described as the “ultimate test of precision, pressure and perseverance”.
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The six-part series, which shares some of the creative team behind Top Gun: Maverick, is also said to go “beyond the cockpit”, with the “personal stakes” and “sacrifices” for each “ambitious” student being revealed in “candid moments”.
“While the emotional stakes fuel the story, it’s in the skies where the drama hits full throttle. Outfitted with in-cockpit cameras, the series delivers a breathtaking front-row experience to capture moments of precision, panic and hard-fought triumph,” reads the logline, which teases “pulse-pounding” aerial sequences.
National Geographic UK
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The reality series premieres on National Geographic on 21 September, with each instalment dropping every Sunday before the finale, titled ‘Last Chance’, airs on 26 October.
While Top Guns: The Next Generation will focus on a real-life group of pilots, work is already underway on the third film in the iconic franchise, with lead star Tom Cruise offering a promising update on its progress in May.
National Geographic UK
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“We’re thinking and talking about many different stories and what could we do and what’s possible,” he said. “It took me 35 years to figure out Top Gun: Maverick… we’re discussing [sequels to] Days of Thunder and Top Gun: Maverick.”
“There’s numerous other films we’re actively working on right now. I’m always shooting a film, prepping a film, posting a film… [I] keep going, man,” added the actor, who plays Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the franchise.
Top Guns: The Next Generation premieres on National Geographic on 21 September.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. Â His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
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