Top Gun 2 is one of those fabled projects that has been making the rumor rounds for years now. Well folks, it's real, it's happening, and it's happening soon, according to Tom Cruise. The actor appeared on the Australian morning show Sunrise during his promotional rounds for The Mummy and he gave the official confirmation that Maverick is getting back into the cockpit for a follow-up, thirty years later.

According to Cruise, they're "gonna start filming it probably in the next year," which makes sense since the actor's usually jam-packed schedule has a bit of a lull afterhe wraps on Mission: Impossible 6. Cruise didn't offer up any details, or hell, even any hints about what we can expect from the long-developed sequel, and I'm incredibly interested to see who Cruise recruits for the directing gig. The original plan was for Cruise to re-team with Top Gun director Tony Scott and regular collaborator Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, MI6). Peter Craig (The Town) was brought on to draft a script, but the project all but fell apart after Scott’s death in 2012. The film picked back up a couple years later with a new screenwriter, and now it's finally a go. Cruise is an actor and producer who like to work with talent he knows and trusts, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a familiar face taking the helm on this one, especially considering the potential value of reviving one of Cruise's most beloved films.

For now, watch Cruise confirm the good news (and confirm, and confirm, and confirm) in the video below.

[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/867139377314516992[/EMBED_TWITTER] The first sign that Top Gun 2 was might finally come together arrived last year when Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer met up to chat the film and posted some photographic evidence to twitter. At one point, the film was said to revolve around the role of fighter pilots in the age of drone warfare, and Val Kilmer previously said he signed on to return as Iceman without even seeing the script, but both updates landed a while ago so it will be interesting to see how much of that holds up in the film's final form.
top-gun-edwards-cruise
Image via Paramount Pictures
top-gun-mcgillis-cruise
Image via Paramount
top-gun-tom-cruise-2
Image via Paramount