The Summer of 2022 is shaping up to be a movie season to remember. This Summer is packed with surefire blockbusters like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Jurassic World Dominion, and Thor: Love and Thunder. With Top Gun: Maverick's release date sandwiched between Doctor Strange 2 and Jurassic World 3, Paramount could use a surge of positive buzz to ensure the film doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Now, that buzz may be kickstarted by its newly confirmed out-of-competition selection in the next Cannes Film Festival, where the film will premiere ahead of its release on Memorial Day Weekend.
Top Gun: Maverick, which has suffered many release date changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be the first film appearance by Tom Cruise since his starring role in 2018's Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Maverick is also the first film to represent its franchise since the original Top Gun, which was released in 1986. The film is directed by Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski and stars a slew of new and returning cast members alongside Cruise, including Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Manny Jacinto, Danny Ramirez, and Thomasin McKenzie among others.
Top Gun: Maverick will screen at the Cannes Film Festival in France, one of the biggest international film festivals in the world, which runs between May 17–28. This is the first time in thirty years a film starring Tom Cruise has screened at Cannes—the last being Ron Howard's 1992 film Far and Away. Many blockbuster movies including Mad Max: Fury Road and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith have previously been out-of-competition selections in the past, while Shrek and Shrek 2 famously competed for the Palme d'Or. The last Hollywood blockbuster to screen at Cannes was Fast and Furious 9, which was showcased last year as a secret screening.
Top Gun: Maverick and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are understood to be Paramount Pictures' two biggest theatrical releases of 2022. Mission: Impossible 7, which was originality slated for September of 2022, has been delayed to July 2023, leaving Top Gun: Maverick as the only Tom Cruise movie releasing this year as well as the highest-budgeted Paramount film of the year at $152 Million.
Top Gun: Maverick, a film that follows United States Navy aviators, will be released during a precarious cultural climate. With the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war dominating news cycles, it remains to be seen as to whether audiences will respond enthusiastically to a blockbuster deeply associated with themes of military, war, and conflict. Nevertheless, the reactions to Top Gun: Maverick from Cannes critics will surely be fascinating to discover.
Top Gun: Maverick releases in theaters on May 27th, 2022.
Source: Hollywood Reporter