‘Top Gun 2′ Grabs a Writer from ‘The Jungle Book’
The long-awaited 'Top Gun' sequel is feeling the need for speed ... again, and is finally picking up the pace as the project has seemingly found its writer: Justin Marks, the screenwriter behind Jon Favreau's 'The Jungle Book,' is in talks to write the screenplay for 'Top Gun 2,' which will put Tom Cruise back in the cockpit.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Justin Marks is in negotiations to pen the script for 'Top Gun 2,' the highly anticipated sequel to the 1986 classic, which followed students at the Top Gun academy, the Navy's elite fighter school. Cruise will reprise his role as Maverick in the sequel, which will "show the relevance of good old fashioned pilots in today’s high-tech, drone-centric war environment."
The sequel previously stalled with the passing of director Tony Scott, but is now ready for action again with the potential hiring of a new writer and the arrival of producer Jerry Bruckheimer at Paramount.
As previously mentioned, Marks also wrote the script for Disney's live-action 'The Jungle Book,' which is being directed by Jon Favreau and features the voice work of Bill Murray, Idris Elba, and Scarlett Johansson. He also penned the script for the Bruckheimer-produced 'War Dogs,' and is adapting the Vertigo comic 'Federal Bureau of Physics.'