According to the Maverick theory, Maverick was dead throughout the entire movie

Spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick follow.

Even if you love Top Gun: Maverick (and you should, because it’s great), you’ll have to admit that it can get pretty ridiculous at times.

We’re not just talking about the intense and suspenseful scenes where everything seems to happen at exactly the right time, including some last-ditch rescue attempts. It’s embedded in the plot of the sequel, in which Maverick is called back to Top Gun to train pilots for an impossible mission that only he knows how to accomplish.

This is certainly a classic action movie concept, but an excellent theory from Vulture in May 2022 suggests that there is a logical reason in the plot why everything is so over the top: It’s Maverick’s dying fantasy.

We are in the process of spoilerSo final warning if you haven’t seen Top Gun: Maverick yet. (And if you haven’t, it’s currently streaming on Netflix in the UK and Ireland.)

When we see Maverick again at the beginning of the film, he is in the process of reaching Mach 9 in a hypersonic jet as part of the Darkstar program. He is told that Rear Admiral Cain is on his way to ending the program and diverting the funds to unmanned drones.

Before Cain arrives, Maverick takes off anyway, reaching Mach 9 before deciding to continue on to Mach 10, Darkstar’s planned target. He succeeds in doing just that, but Maverick, being Maverick, decides to push the scramjet even further, and that’s when everything goes wrong.

We see the plane break apart in the sky, and yet the next scene shows Maverick walking into a restaurant, a little dazed but still alive and unharmed. However, the theory goes that this never actually happens and all we see is Maverick’s “death dream.”

We know you’ve heard a lot of theories that say, “They were dead all along!” and of course that theory isn’t entirely true, but it’s still very valid. As they say, if you accept the “Death Dream,” a lot of the little criticisms of the sequel work.

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It’s Maverick’s final fantasy, so of course he’s the only pilot in the world who can pull off this impossible mission. And even though Maverick only wants to be the teacher, he ends up leading the mission, making a sacrifice to save Rooster, which he somehow survives.

Even the fact that Top Gun: Maverick leaves the true identity of the enemy unknown makes sense in theory. Maverick is simply taking inspiration from his last major Top Gun mission, which also pitted him against a similarly unspecified enemy in the first film.

This is also why when we first meet Rooster, he is dressed exactly like his father Goose, has the same mustache, and is playing the same song on the piano. One could even take the theory further and argue that Maverick and Rooster’s reconciliation in the finale is part of the fantasy, something Maverick couldn’t do in life.

You could also apply it to the other important relationships Maverick has in the film. Iceman would have recommended him for the mission since he has supported Maverick throughout his career, while Maverick ends up with Penny since it’s another relationship that Maverick, like Rooster, didn’t get right in life.

Following the film’s release in May 2022, director Joseph Kosinski refused to “dismiss” the theory. “Movies are meant to be interpreted in different ways, and I love it when people read different meanings into them,” he explained.

“I really like hearing that theory and certainly there is a mythical element to the story that I think lends itself to that kind of interpretation based on who Maverick is and what he represents and the fact that he goes through this rite of passage at a different stage in his life.”

Maybe we’re going too far here, and as I said, it’s almost certainly not the case that Maverick died at the beginning. After all, the sequel was already a mega-hit at the box office, making a third film a serious possibility, and Maverick can’t exactly be dead when that happens.

However, there’s no denying that the theory makes sense. As Vulture concludes, we could “watch someone dream impossible dreams just before they burn up in the atmosphere” and the movie would make just as much – if not more – sense.

The feeling may be dark and gloomy, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be true…

Top Gun: Maverick is available to watch on Netflix in the UK and Ireland.

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