Tom Cruise surprises Comic-Con crowd with epic first 'Top Gun: Maverick' trailer

SAN DIEGO – Tom Cruise hasn't lost that loving feeling at all.

The A-lister of A-listers surprised the crowd at San Diego Comic-Con during a Paramount panel to debut the first trailer for the long-awaited sequel "Top Gun: Maverick" (in theaters June 28, 2020). Cruise stars alongside Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Glen Powell and Jon Hamm in the film directed by Joseph Kosinski.

"Thirty-four years ago, I made a movie in San Diego," Cruise said to a cheering audience. "And you've all asked for many years, when are you going to do another one?"

Cruise called the follow-up to his 1986 hit "a love letter to aviation. Everything you see in this film, it’s for real. The flying, we’re working with the Navy. I really wanted to give you all an experience of what it’s like to be in that aircraft."

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The new "Top Gun" catches up with Maverick (Cruise) as a guy who hasn't left the cockpit yet, as his boss (Ed Harris) tells him he could have been a two-star admiral by now. "Truly one of life's mysteries," Maverick says in the trailer.

The first footage features lots of epic air scenes, plus glimpses of new cast members, but also a lot of callbacks to the original, from raucous singing in a bar to beach volleyball. Maverick still has his bomber jacket, sunglasses and motorcycle, and the trailer contains a cool throwback scene with a grinning Maverick zooming across a landing strip on his bike.