Tom Cruise Pilots Helicopter To ‘Top Gun Maverick’ Premiere

36 years after “Top Gun’ dominated the box office, a sequel is finally flying into theaters.

“Top Gun Maverick” starring Maverick himself Tom Cruise, hit theaters on May 27th. But first the cast celebrated with a world premiere in San Diego at the USS Midway Museum.

Hip Hollywood was on hand to talk to the cast, but not before Cruise arrived via helicopter he piloted and landed right on the flight deck. He took off from the USS Nimitz after attending a special screening at NAS North Island for the military and their families.

Tom Cruise arrives in a helicopter at “Top Gun: Maverick” World Premiere held at The USS Midway Museum on May 4, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

In the film, Cruise returns as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell who now is one of the Navy’s top aviators. After more than thirty years of service he now finds himself training a detachment of TOPGUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.

(L-R) Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Danny Ramirez, Jay Ellis, Lyliana Wray, Bashir Salahuddin, Miles Teller, Charles Parnell, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, Jake Picking, Tom Cruise, Lewis Pullman, Jean Louisa Kelly, Greg Tarzan Davis, Kara Wang, Raymond Lee, Jack Schumacher and Manny Jacinto attend the Global Premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick” on May 04, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

Cruise’s cast mates sang his praises not only for his grand entrance but keeping them all motivated during filming.