Top Gun: Maverick almost killed off Tom Cruise's Captain Mitchell, but smartly decided not to. Here's why Maverick survived the Top Gun sequel.

Top Gun: Maverick set up a heroic death for Tom Cruise's Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, but here's why the movie opted to keep him alive instead. After 36 years, Maverick is the belated sequel to the 1986 action classic Top Gun. Maverick sees Tom Cruise's fighter pilot return to train Top Gun's best young graduates to complete a seemingly impossible mission to destroy a uranium base. While a few familiar faces return, including Maverick and Val Kilmer's Iceman, most of the Top Gun: Maverick cast are new to the Top Gun franchise.

There were fears that Top Gun: Maverick would be a flop because of the numerous delays it faced. Instead, Tom Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski delivered a spectacular and memorable blockbuster that has smashed several box office records. Top Gun: Maverick has received universal praise thanks to Cruise's performance, its surprisingly emotional storyline, and Top Gun 2's expertly choreographed stunts action. Some recent legacy sequels have made a point of killing beloved characters to create big moments. It was always a possibility that Top Gun: Maverick would do the same with Captain Mitchell and the movie even sets up the perfect death for the character. In the end, Maverick does not die in Top Gun 2, and the decision was for the best.

Top Gun 2 Had The Perfect Opportunity To Kill Off Maverick

Towards the end of Top Gun: Maverick, Captain Mitchell almost gets a heroic death. After successfully destroying the enemy's underground uranium plant, Maverick and the Top Gun team are stuck in a dogfight. A defenseless Rooster is targeted by a missile attack, and without hesitation, Maverick sacrifices his jet to save Goose's son Rooster, before ejecting to safety. The rest of his team presume he is dead and are ordered back to the aircraft carrier. Without any way of protecting himself, Maverick is confronted by an enemy gunship that starts mercilessly shooting at the naval hero. Just as he is about to be killed, Rooster disobeys orders to swoop in and shoot down the gunship to save his mentor.

If that had been Maverick's Top Gun death then it would have been a perfect way for Tom Cruise's character to go. After almost four decades, Maverick still felt guilty for the accidental death of Goose, so there was never any doubt that he would do anything to protect Rooster. Maverick isn't the sort of character to settle for an easy life, and it's almost inevitable that he will die while in flight, whether that be testing Top Gun: Maverick's experimental Mach 10-reaching jets or in combat. Had Captain Mitchell been killed at that moment in Top Gun: Maverick it would have taken away from another character's arc.

Why Maverick Doesn't Die In Top Gun 2

Maverick doesn't die in Top Gun 2 because his survival is crucial to Rooster's storyline. In Top Gun: Maverick, Rooster blames Maverick for the death of his father, Goose, and resents him for slowing down his military career by four years. As Maverick proves how great he is as a pilot, Rooster starts to respect him from a distance. Maverick needed a defining moment that smashed through the emotional barrier between Rooster and Maverick and having the two save each other was the perfect way to do so. If Rooster didn't save Maverick he would have missed out on the hugely cathartic moment that allowed him to forgive Maverick.

Top Gun 2 Not Killing Maverick Was The Right Choice

Ultimately not killing Maverick was a good decision because it provided the feel-good ending that Top Gun 2 needed. If Maverick died then it would have cast a shadow on the exciting tone of the blockbuster, leaving viewers less satisfied that the actual Maverick ending. His death would have also taken away from Iceman's passing, which already injects enough sad nostalgia and emotion into the movie. Keeping Tom Cruise's Captain Mitchell alive in Top Gun: Maverick sets up another potential return for the fighter pilot, and given the box office and critical success of the sequel, it wouldn't be surprising if Top Gun were made into a trilogy.

It Was Always Unlikely Maverick Would Die

Tom Cruise and Paramount have claimed that there were no discussions of a third movie before and during making Top Gun: Maverick and there's still been no Top Gun 3 announcement. However, given how franchise-focused Hollywood has become, it was unlikely that the studio would close off the potential of a sequel by having Maverick die in Top Gun 2. While Top Gun: Maverick ostensibly sees its hero passing the torch to a new generation, in reality, there is no Top Gun without Tom Cruise, as much of the sequel's success was rooted in nostalgia for star-driven action movies. From a purely commercial standpoint, it was always likely that Maverick would survive his perilous adventures to leave the door open for a Top Gun: Maverick follow-up.

Top Gun 3 Shouldn't Kill Off Maverick Either

If there is indeed a third Top Gun movie, it will once again set the stage for Maverick to be killed. It is becoming increasingly popular for action franchises to kill off their main character in sequels, regardless of how indestructible than initially seemed. While that might have been a good idea to end Daniel Craig's time as James Bond in No Time to Die, it would be a mistake to kill Maverick inTop Gun 3. In fact, with Maverick finding happiness and purpose in a new relationship, the whole idea of a third movie is troublesome. If Top Gun 3 finds a suitable way to get Maverick back in the cockpit, killing him would betray the idea that he no longer needs to risk his life in a plane which is how things ended in Top Gun: Maverick.