Top Gun 2018 Page

Maverick volunteers to lead. Jake is his wingman.

Jake breaks down. Maverick pulls him into a one-armed hug.

Jake's eyes well up.

"Lesson one," Jake says, looking up at a vapor trail streaking across the sunrise—Maverick, cleared to fly one last time. "The plane is just metal. The pilot is the weapon. And the heart... is the afterburner."

Jake slams the stick. A 9G turn. Black encroaches on his vision. He pulls lead, the piper on the drone's engine exhaust. He fires.

Phoenix confronts Jake. "He's not your enemy. Your enemy is the story you're telling yourself." EXT. CANYON RUN - DAY

In 2018, the son of a disgraced Cold War-era pilot enters the elite Top Gun naval aviation program, only to discover that his instructor is the legendary Maverick—the man who inadvertently caused his father's downfall.

Jake's wingman (Phoenix) is hit—hydraulic leak. She has to pull out. Jake is alone with Maverick.

Maverick's voice, breaking up: "That's a kill, kid. That's a goddamn kill."

But his hand trembles.

Jake, bruised, stands outside Maverick's room. Maverick has a broken arm and stitches across his forehead. Iceman is there, holding Maverick's other hand.

Maverick looks at Jake. "Your dad came to see me. Last year. Before he... passed. He told me to tell you something."