Tom Cruise made his film debut in 1981’s Endless Love. But it wasn’t until five years later in Top Gun that Cruise truly emerged as an A-list leading man. That film — directed by the late Tony Scott — sparked a phenomenon that has endured for more than three decades. Case in point, 2022’s long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, became the year’s biggest hit.
On this episode, film critic and podcaster Karen Peterson of Citizen Dame and The Watch and Talk joins us to talk the legacy of both films. We’ll discuss how Top Gun developed into a franchise, what the two movies say about Cruise’s career, Top Gun: Maverick‘s wild box office run and awards chances, and explore whether we’d want to see a third installment.