It was 36 years in the making, but the follow-up to Top Gun finally hit the big screen in 2022.

Legacy sequels can be a huge risk decades later, but Tom Cruise’s Top Gun Maverick turned out to be a monumental hit with both the critics and the box office.

The Oscar-winning blockbuster features scenes shot inside actual fighter jets flown by the star, has 96 per cent positive on Rotten Tomatoes and made $1.496 billion globally.

The 62-year-old reprises his role as US Navy Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, training a group of younger Top Gun graduates for a dangerous mission.

Among them is Miles Teller as Rooster, the son of Maverick’s best friend Goose, who died in the first movie.

Top Gun Maverick also co-stars Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell and Ed Harris.

Meanwhile, Val Kilmer returned as Maverick’s old rival Iceman, who is now an Admiral. Top Gun 3 is also currently in the works.

Top Gun Maverick is airing on Film4 at 9pm tonight and will be streaming on Channel 4 after that. The film is also currently streaming on Netflix.