Tom Cruise flown in to Top Gun: Maverick premiere by helicopter

Actor confirms that he didn’t fly the chopper to the premiere

Tom Cruise made an epic landing in a helicopter at the Top Gun: Maverick world premiere in San Diego on Wednesday (3 May).

The 59-year-old actor landed on the deck of the USS Midway aircraft carrier in a chopper that read “Tom Cruise. Top Gun: Maverick.”

Despite earlier reports that Cruise flew the helicopter himself, the actor confirmed to ET Online that he didn’t fly the chopper at the premiere.

“No, not today. I do fly that helicopter, but not today,” Cruise said.

Last week, the first reactions to Top Gun: Maverick came in and they are supremely positive.

Cruise introduced the film, which is directed by Joseph Kosinski, via video link at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday (28 April).

It was then shown to a crowd of cinema exhibitors and journalists, who proceeded to heap huge praise on it when it ended.

It was also revealed that Cruise put the cast of Top Gun: Maverick through “gruelling” flight training while preparing to shoot the film.

In behind-the-scenes footage from the movie, Cruise explained how the cast undertook “challenging” and “all-encompassing” aviation training for the film at his request.

“We worked with the Navy and the Top Gun school to formulate how to shoot it practically,” Cruise said, adding, “because if we’re gonna do it, we’re gonna fly in the F-18s”.

The actors learnt how to operate the cameras while inside the jets. Cruise said: “I had to really teach them cinematography and the lighting so they understood what’s gonna look good on camera… I’m very proud of what we all accomplished. Each one of them are extraordinary.”