EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures has set July 12, 2019, as the release date for Top Gun 2, the long-gestating sequel to the 1986 hit. Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski has been set to helm the film, re-teaming him with Tom Cruise, whom he directed in the sci-fi pic Oblivion. Cruise reprises his role as Maverick, now a flight instructor teaching the young macho pilots how to do it. Jerry Bruckheimer is reprising as producer. The script is by Peter Craig and Justin Marks, along with Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz.

The film has long been in development and got close several years ago with the original director Tony Scott planning to step behind the camera again. His untimely death shelved the film for years. It comes at a good time for Paramount, which is reloading its franchises under new chief Jim Gianopulos. This certainly gives the studio a branded title with a lot of wanna see attached to it.