Summary SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT While Top Gun's ending originally included an extra scene, keeping this sequence intact would have ruined Top Gun: Maverick’s entire plot. Top Gun may be a cult classic, but it is fair to say that the blockbuster action movie wasn’t overly concerned with realistic character drama.
While Top Gun 3’s expected release might take the series in a more grounded direction, Top Gun: Maverick mostly maintains the 1986 original's larger-than-life tone. The beach football matches are still present, Maverick is still able to survive injuries no human body could endure, and the enemies of the US Navy are still conveniently faceless, nation-less entities with no specific geopolitical identities.
Top Gun Cutting Goose's Grave Scene Shaped Maverick's Sequel Story Top Gun originally included a scene in which Maverick got some closure by visiting Goose’s grave at the end of the film, though this cut sequence could have inadvertently ruined the movie’s much-delayed sequel before it ever began production. While Iceman’s death in Top Gun: Maverick was the catalyst that led Maverick on his final mission, it was the haunting memories of Goose’s death that held him back over the years.
This plot point wouldn’t have rung true if Top Gun had ended with Maverick visiting Goose’s grave as planned. If this scene stayed in Top Gun’s final cut, the last time viewers saw Maverick would have involved him owning up to his role in his friend’s death. Instead, the team behind Top Gun jettisoned this downbeat moment and accidentally saved the sequel in the process. Top Gun: Maverick’s plot only works because Maverick is still tortured by Goose’s untimely passing.
How Top Gun 2 Changes If The Original Movie's Grave Scene Wasn't Cut Top Gun has a cheery, optimistic ending, but the movie never confirms that Maverick forgave himself for Goose’s death and moved on. Fast-forward to the sequel and this is his defining character trait, with regret replacing ego as the flaw holding him back until finally forgiving himself in Top Gun: Maverick's ending.