View gallery Image Credit: Paramount Pictures/Paramount + Top Gun: Maverick captivated moviegoers in 2022. The highly-anticipated sequel was released 36 years after the first film became a blockbuster in 1986. Top Gun: Maverick followed Tom Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell as he trained a new set of Top Gun pilots, including the son of his late best friend, Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. The sequel went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies of 2022 with over $1.4 billion at the box office. Top Gun: Maverick also scored a number of Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture.