Tom Cruise made an unannounced appearance in Hall H on Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con, where he treated surprised fans to the first trailer for “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Just after the end of the “Terminator: Dark Fate” panel that kicked things off in Hall H, Conan O’Brien came out on stage to introduce Cruise to the shocked audience — after which Cruise introduced the trailer. Watch it here.
“Thirty-four years ago I made a movie in San Diego right here,” Cruise said when he took the stage, referring to the original “Top Gun.” “I actually shot across the street at a restaurant.”
Cruise mentioned how he’s frequently asked by fans if he’d ever do a “Top Gun” sequel. “For 34 years, you guys have been very very patient with me. And I felt that it was my responsibility to finally really deliver for you,” he said before the clip rolled.
He also promised the crowd that “everything you see in this film, obviously it’s for real. So the flying, working with the Navy, all the flying you’ll see in this picture, everything is real.”
“I really wanted to give you all the experience of what it is to be inside that aircraft,” Cruise continued, adding that he sees “Top Gun” as a film about “competition,” “family,” “sacrifice,” and “heroism.”
“It’s about aviation. And I love aviation,” he added.