Tom Cruise should have died in Top Gun: Maverick – Neil deGrasse Tyson

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson calls Tom Cruise’s stunts in Top Gun: Maverick a mission impossible.

The global blockbuster sequel to Top Gun begins with Cruise reprising his role as Navy pilot Maverick, hitting Mach 10.5 and forced to eject from the cockpit. Tyson took to Twitter to hint that Maverick would “squirt” immediately after getting off the plane.

“Late to the party here, but in this year’s ‘Top Gun,’ Tom Cruise’s character, Maverick, jumps out of a hypersonic plane at Mach 10.5 before it crashes. He survived without injuries. At that airspeed, his body would squirt like chain mail hitting a worm,” Tyson tweeted. “At supersonic speeds, the air cannot separate smoothly for you. You have to pierce it, which largely explains the difference in fuselage design between subsonic and supersonic aircraft. Because of that, the air on your body might as well be a wall at those speeds.”

Tyson continued: “When Maverick exited at Mach 10.5, he was driving 7,000mph and giving him 400 million joules of kinetic energy – the explosive force of 100kg of TNT. A situation that human physiology is not designed to survive.” He added, “Well, no. Maverick doesn’t walk away from that. He is dead. Very dead.”

Later, as part of the mission for the Top Gun pilots, Tyson wrote that “they fly dangerously under radar, through a narrow, winding gorge to destroy a target, while dodging multiple banks of surface-to-air missiles.” . But why not turn off the missile banks first? Could then fly without daring manoeuvres. I’m just saying.”

Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda filmed over 813 hours of aerial footage with the cast, led by Cruise, really pulling off their death-defying stunts.

“It’s like doing a play,” Kosinski told IndieWire. “You create the performance in rehearsal and then it is performed. We had a big monitor and we went through every shot of the day, every storyboard, every thumbnail, every line of dialogue. We talked about the height of the jet, the terrain, the maneuver, the line, the line of the eye, where the sun has to be. It was arduous but necessary, with safety first.”

Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible star Cruise has his sights set on more extraordinary stunts: becoming the first actor to shoot a movie in space. Cruise has teamed up with The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman for a feature film set on the International Space Station.

Late to the party here, but this year @TopGunMovie, @TomCruise‘s character Maverick jumps out of a hypersonic plane at Mach 10.5 before it crashes.

He survived without injuries.

At that airspeed, his body would squirt like mail hitting a worm. I’m just saying. pic.twitter.com/YP9IKVc8VS

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 9, 2022

At supersonic speeds, the air cannot separate smoothly for you. You have to pierce it, which largely explains the difference in fuselage design between subsonic and supersonic aircraft.

Because of this, the air on your body might as well be a brick wall at these speeds. pic.twitter.com/psN8aoAT2e

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 9, 2022

When Maverick exited at Mach 10.5, he was driving 7,000 mph and giving him 400 million joules of kinetic energy — the explosive force of 100 kg of TNT. A situation that human physiology is not designed to survive.

So no. Maverick doesn’t walk away from that. He is dead. Very dead.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 9, 2022

In this year @TopGunMovieFly dangerously under radar through a narrow, winding canyon to destroy a target, avoiding multiple banks of surface-to-air missiles.

But why not turn off the missile banks first? Could then fly without daring manoeuvres. I’m just saying. pic.twitter.com/2FYyUjJdp1

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 9, 2022

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