While I’m sure that most actors are perfectly friendly with each other while they’re making big movies together, I had no idea just how well some of these friendships can thrive, even long after the work is done. The same week that I learned that the Oppenhomies are still chatting via text, it turns out the same is true of the case of Top Gun: Maverick.
Jay Ellis, who can currently be seen in the comedy series Running Point on Netflix, played “Payback” in Top Gun: Maverick, and he told People the cast of Maverick started a text chain during production. Not only that, but it’s still active, and considering the cast’s successes of late, it’s been especially busy. Ellis said…
We’re all on text chains together. We’re constantly like… Perfect example is Miles had The Gorge come out. Glen is away working on a movie. Monica is nominated for an Oscar. Danny Ramirez just had Captain America come out.
It’s pretty awesome that even years later, the crew from Top Gun: Maverick still talks via text, and they celebrate each other’s big successes. This is almost identical to recent comments from Jack Quaid about how the cast of Oppenheimer also keep in touch. They have affectionally called themselves the Oppenhomies. It’s unclear if the Maverick crew has a cute name for themselves.
It’s also unclear if Tom Cruise is also part of this group or if the star of the movie isn’t actually included. To be fair, the guy has been pretty busy making Mission: Impossible movies for the last several years, so even if he is in the group, he may not be a regular contributor.
That text chat will likely come in very handy in the future, and hopefully soon. We know that Top Gun 3 is in early development. There’s no script as far as we’re aware, and it’s unclear what characters, other than Tom Cruise’s Maverick, may return for the next film. That said, it feels like a safe bet that as long as the next movie doesn’t take decades to actually make, there’s a good chance most of the cast of Maverick will be back.
Of course, at this point, we don’t know that Top Gun 3 won’t take decades to make happen. There were numerous attempts to make the sequel to Top Gun that never happened for a variety of reasons. Certainly considering the incredible box office success of Maverick, everybody involved is going to be very interested in making the movie happen. There’s little that’s going to help motivate a movie being made quite like large quantities of money.
Still, that doesn’t mean Top Gun 3 won’t be an excellent movie. Considering how close the cast of Maverick has become, we can only assume that they talk about the sequel themselves with some frequency. And if it happens, there will probably also be some new cast members who can join the conversation.