Top Gun: Maverick writer Christopher McQuarrie reveals his callsign for the film, and it’s perfectly obvious. Serving as a sequel to Tony Scott’s 1986 original, Top Gun: Maverick sees star Tom Cruise return as hotshot pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, now training a new batch of recruits for a dangerous mission. McQuarrie wrote the film alongside Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and is a frequent Cruise collaborator, having directed the actor in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
In a recent Twitter post, McQuarrie confirms his callsign for Top Gun: Maverick is, fittingly, “Mach Q”.
https://t.co/n1esQzAJwT pic.twitter.com/KxL9SSdvz5
— Christopher McQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) April 17, 2023
The writer/ director’s callsign is similar to McQ, the nickname that Cruise and other cast and crewmembers frequently call him. The Mach unit of speed also plays an important part in the opening of Top Gun: Maverick, when Cruise’s character is attempting to set a new speed record in an advanced Darkstar airplane.
Top Gun: Maverick’s Callsigns Explained
Cruise’s character’s callsign, Maverick, was first featured in the original Top Gun. As someone who likes to play by his own rules and blaze his own trail, Maverick is clearly the ideal callsign for Mitchell. The new sequel also introduces a number of new characters, who all have their very own callsigns.
Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller) plays a prominent role in the movie as a younger figure who challenges Maverick’s leadership. Bradshaw’s callsign is especially fitting because Teller’s character is the son of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), Maverick’s former wingman who tragically died in the line of duty in the original film.
Another new addition to the franchise is “Hangman” (Glen Powell), a somewhat arrogant character so-named because of his tendency to leave his co-pilots hanging. By the end of the film, however, Hangman comes to the rescue, proving he is more than what his callsign suggests. Other new characters include Monica Barbaro’s “Phoenix,” a callsign speaking to the challenges of being a female pilot. Hopefully, if another sequel gets the green light after Top Gun: Maverick, Mach Q will return to pen the script to further expand on other callsigns including “Payback,” “Fanboy,” and, of course, “Bob”.