NEWS BITS: 'Top Gun 2' will provide a front-seat into the world of aviation; 'Tron: Ascension' still has a pulse
Seems like Joseph Kosinski's latest film Only the Brave is good for headlines unrelated to the film (see - Soldado and now this). Sad.
In an interview promoting Kosinski's latest firefighting biopic Only the Brave (Reviewed here and here!) the Director of Tron: Legacy and Oblivion shared some noteworthy details about his upcoming sequel to Top Gun and the current state of Tron: Ascension.
Top Gun 2 will adapt to the times....
Chatting with ComingSoon.net (CS), Kosinski shared how his approach for "Top Gun 2" will be adapted based on the "times we live in" but will provide a "front-seat into the world of Naval aviation" -
"The Navy is very different now than it was in 1986. Back then, they hadn’t been in any war for 15 or 20 years at that point. The tone of that movie and what those guys were doing was very different" Kosinski shared with CS "It’s just a different world now, so you can’t remake the first movie. It has to adapt. That being said, I certainly want to recreate the experience of that movie, which gives you a front-seat into the world of Naval aviation and what it’s like to be in a fighter jet. The approach is going to be appropriate for the times we live in."
Kosinski is 'captain obvious' here on many fronts and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The world is indeed a different place and it doesn't take a millennial much less a ‘Gen X ‘or ‘Boomer’ to understand Top Gun's tone and "what those guys were doing" in 1986 represented a cultural zeitgeist fueled with the kind of testosterone that made Top Gun's bar & locker room talk - not too mention 'skins vs. skins' (except Goose) volleyball play - a permanent fixture of 1980's canon that has ZERO business in today’s film genre. Thankfully it sounds like Kosinski gets it. And IF we are talking about putting the film-goer in the “front-seat” and into the world of naval aviation coupled with an immersive fighter jet experience? Then count me in, especially if “Top Gun 2” features more real life figures such as Christine Fox aka "Charlie" portrayed by the wonderful Kelly McGillis.
"Top Gun 2" is set for July 12, 2019 release and will mark the return of Cruise's Naval Aviator Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell where he'll will re-team with long-time collaborator and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Tron 3 is still stalled but not dead...
In the same interview, Kosinski spoke about the status of "Tron: Ascension" or the "Tron 3" reboot and revealed an interesting nugget regarding Jared Leto's involvement in 2009's Tron: Legacy -
Jared and I had actually been talking about 'Tron' since [i]Tron: Legacy back in 2009. We almost put him in that movie, actually in that scene! [/i]That scene Kosinski refers to was the End of Line Club featuring the flamboyant brilliance of Michael Sheen's 'Castor/Zuse'. Could you imagine Leto in Sheen’s place? Or maybe he was supposed to be the bartender in Steve Lisberger’s cameo?
Kosinski went on to share "Tron 3" is still stalled but he and Leto are still keeping a pulse on the the project: "Jared’s a huge fan and we actually batted around ideas and I was talking to him about that role in “Ascension,” but we only got to the script stage on that. We never really moved beyond that and that’s sort of where it sits for now."
Actor, Jared Leto, recently spoke with Collider while promoting Blade Runner 2049 and confirmed his involvement with Kosinski's "Tron 3" as well -
It was a huge movie for me [Speaking of Tron: Legacy] and I do think there’s so much potential in that world, Leto said. “There so much left to be said. I’m absolutely game to try to help in any way that I can bring that to life.” The Oscar-winning actor added that: “It’s something that we’re in discussions about and very much looking forward to bringing to reality. It’s very early days, though.”
Kind of a bummer but not a surprise given Tron: Legacy's $400 million box office yield was simultaneously underwhelming and profitable. Hopefully Disney decides to prioritize this in the near future, otherwise let's just scrap altogether and give it another 27 years until we decide to reboot 2009's sequel to 1982's Tron.
