Jay Ellis has said Tom Cruise and Ehren Kruger are "still working on the script" for the sequel to ‘Top Gun: Maverick’.
The 43-year-old actor played fighter pilot Lt. Reuben ‘Payback’ Fitch in the 2022 action blockbuster, and has now stressed the follow-up flick is still in development, with co-star and producer Cruise and co-writer Kruger "wanting to get it right".
Speaking to US Weekly, Ellis said: "So here’s what the story’s going to be. It’s going to be Payback. No, no.
"In all honesty, they’re still working on the script. They’re still working on the story. They’re wanting to get it right."
The ‘Somebody I Used to Know’ star added Cruise, 62, was a "stickler" for making the film as good as possible, and was determined to ensure audiences are thoroughly "entertained" by the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ sequel.
Ellis continued: "You know, Tom is a stickler, and that really comes from him wanting to make sure the audience gets what they paid for and that they’re entertained.
"[So] that for those two hours, they can fully disappear in this theatre, and the world around them doesn’t exist anymore, and [be] fully entertained. That’s where the focus is."
Reflecting on the upcoming movie, Ellis suggested the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ sequel should continue to explore the storylines and character arcs introduced in the first and second films.
He explained: "[It’s also about] really making sure that this story is not done just to make a movie, but made because these characters are going to make people lean in."
The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ sequel will see the return of Cruise - who will also serve as producer on the flick with Jerry Bruckheimer and David Ellison - alongside Miles Teller and Glen Powell as Lt. Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw and Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin respectively.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ filmmaker Joseph Kosinski is also expected to return for the upcoming blockbuster, though it is unknown whether he will direct or produce the movie.
The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ sequel was confirmed to be in active development at Paramount Pictures in January 2024, though updates have been few and far between since.
The last update on the movie came last July, when Powell, 36, said he had been given "a date" for when shooting on the film was slated to begin.
After news broke that a ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ sequel was in the works, the ‘Twisters’ star said he had been bombarded by texts asking him to confirm the movie was happening.
He told Variety: "People looked at me like I knew what was going on. There is going to be some fun stuff being announced soon … but it was confidential to me.
"I talk to [Joseph] Kosinski, Cruise and Jerry [Bruckheimer] all the time. There is stuff happening and it sounds very exciting.
"I don’t know when I’ll be going back … I’m sure there is a jet waiting for me sometime in the future."
