Tom Cruise says ‘Top Gun 2′ is still happening despite the death of director Tony Scott

Should a sequel to “Top Gun” still go forward? Despite the death of original director Tony Scott in 2012, “Top Gun” star Tom Cruise says he’s eager to move forward with a follow-up to the 1986 action classic.

“If we can get over some stumbling blocks it will be fun to do,” Cruise told Sky News when asked about “Top Gun 2” at the Empire Film Awards in London. “With movies, they have a time -- when they're ready to be made you go and make them. Some movies I’ve worked on for years before they’ve been made. It just takes time.”

While Cruise didn’t elaborate on what exactly the “stumbling blocks” keeping “Top Gun 2” in development hell were, Tony Scott’s untimely death certainly set the project back. The film had been in active development at the time of Scott’s suicide, which forced producer Jerry Bruckheimer to put it on hold. The project now seems to be moving forward, largely thanks to Cruise’s passion for the material.

“For 30 years we’ve been trying to make a sequel and we’re not going to stop,” Bruckheimer said in 2013. “We still want to do it with Tom and Paramount are still interested in making it. What Tom tells me is that no matter where he goes in the world, people refer to him as Maverick. It’s something he is excited about so as long as he keeps his enthusiasm hopefully we’ll get it made.”

But should Cruise revisit the movie that made him a star?

Other high profile Hollywood actors, notably Harrison Ford, have revisited the franchises that made them famous with mixed results. One need only look at the critical and audience response to “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” to understand the perils of resurrecting an iconic movie character or revisiting a famous franchise. No matter how well intentioned it is, at some point an actor just gets too old to believably reprise a role, often times to the detriment of the series.

However, unlike many other actors, Cruise can probably still get away with revisiting his early work. The spry 51-year-old doesn't look a day over 40 and still makes physically demanding action movies. Heck, Cruise just wrapped production on the fifth entry in the rough-and-tumble "Mission: Impossible" franchise! If he can still handle all the bumps, bruises, and blasts required by those films, then what harm is sitting in a fake fighter jet cockpit going to do?

It's worth noting that Cruise is doing better than most real-life fighter pilots his age, many of whom are long retired or working in commercial aviation by the time they're 51. Cruise has even outlasted the iconic F-14 Tomcat fight jet! "Top Gun" was made so long ago that the U.S. Navy doesn't even use the Tomcat anymore; the fighter aircraft were retired from service in 2006. Ace pilot Maverick just wouldn't be the same without his trademark ride!

Do you want to see Tom Cruise back in action for "Top Gun 2"? Or should he and the producers leave the action classic alone? Let us know in the comments.