Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Top Gun franchise. He is portrayed by Tom Cruise. The character first appeared in the 1986 film Top Gun, followed by Top Gun: Maverick in 2022.

Casting
Actor Matthew Modine turned down the role of Pete Mitchell because he felt the film's pro-military stance went against his politics. The producers of Top Gun wanted Tom Cruise for the role after seeing him in Risky Business. Cruise was offered the part while he was in London filming Legend, Cruise was reluctant to take the part but director Tony Scott's brother Ridley Scott convinced him to take the part.

Cruise was paid between $12–14 million to reprise the role in Top Gun: Maverick, which was revised to over $100 million after his share of the film's box office gross.

Character biography
Mitchell was born to naval aviator Duke Mitchell who died in aerial combat on November 5, 1965, and an unidentified mother.

Top Gun (1986)
In the 1986 film Top Gun, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, portrayed by Tom Cruise, is a young and charismatic naval aviator with a distinctive appearance. He is often seen wearing a leather G-1 military flight jacket, white T-shirt, blue Levi Jeans, aviator sunglasses, and a flight suit, which adds to his iconic and rugged image as a fighter pilot. Maverick's appearance reflects the cool and rebellious nature of his character, making him one of the most recognizable figures in the film.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Thirty years after graduating from Top Gun and the events of the first Top Gun film, Mitchell is a decorated test pilot whose repeated insubordination has kept him from flag rank. His style of clothing is similar to the previous film with the addition of a Sage-green CWU-36/P zip-up flight jacket with styled collar. Maverick's friend and former Top Gun rival Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer), now Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT), has assigned Maverick to the Top Gun school at NAS North Island. Maverick reunites with former girlfriend Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly), to whom he reveals that he promised Rooster's dying mother that Rooster would not become a pilot.

Awards and decorations
The following are the awards and decorations fictionally worn by Maverick as a U.S. Navy service member.

Reception
With the release of Top Gun, the character has been credited as one of Cruise's most iconic roles and one of many that helped launch him into Hollywood stardom. Cruise's performance in Top Gun: Maverick received widespread critical acclaim, more so than the first film, with some reviewers saying it is one of the best of his career. Tatsam Mukherjee of Firstpost wrote that Cruise "wants nothing less than our jaws on the floor. Proving that no amount of multiverse films or superstar cameos will replace the blood, sweat and adrenaline of an actor legitimately trying to push the boundaries of filmmaking. We can be rest assured that if it's a Tom Cruise film, he will not let us down."