the cast of top gun maverick on the beach shirtless together
(Paramount Pictures)

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ fans might be getting the reunion of their dreams in Todd Haynes’ queer romance film

Todd Haynes was working on a queer romance film starring Danny Ramirez and Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix, shortly before filming, dropped out of the project. It caused quite a stir online with fans demanding Phoenix just be recast so we could still see Haynes’ new film. Now, a Top Gun: Maverick star has thrown his hat in the ring.

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The film, which was said to focus on two lovers who are getting ready to leave California for Mexico, already had buzz. We did not know much of the film outside of the log line but fans were excited. Haynes recently released May December to critical acclaim and fans were hoping for another classic from the director. When Phoenix dropped, it seemed like the film was dead in the water. Now, Lewis Pullman said he was willing to step up to the plate.

“I would love to get that call,” Pullman told Variety on the idea of reuniting with Ramirez in the Haynes film. “It’s a brilliant idea. I’m here. I’m here. I’m ready.” Ramirez and Pullman started in Top Gun: Maverick together in 2022. Fans loved them as Fanboy (Ramirez) and Bob (Pullman), so why not give us the reunion we long for?

We are in a Maverick boom with both Ramirez and Pullman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Glen Powell saying that Top Gun 3 is happening. Having Pullman and Ramirez work together on the Haynes film would just be the icing on the cake.

Pullman and Ramirez have a great relationship

In his conversation with Variety, Pullman talked about his relationship with Ramirez and how the Captain America: Brave New World actor helped him with acting. Pullman said that Ramirez taught him a fun way to break down a character and it helped him with his new film, Salem’s Lot.

“He taught me this great thing, a way to break down the arc of a character with all these note cards,” Pullman said. “So I did it on this because I wanted to really track basically how Ben’s journey into believing in something crazy like vampires. I was like, ‘OK, I really want of do this right,’ where he’s like, ‘There’s no way vampires are actually [real]’ and then it’s like he sees this, he hears this, he witnesses that and compiling that arc. I tried to map it out with some sort of architecture, and so I hope that the extreme nature of my reactions has some sort of an elegant bell curve going on.”

It is nice to see how close the Top Gun: Maverick cast still is. When I spoke with Pullman about the potential third movie, he made a note he could have texted Powell about it but didn’t. We get moments like this with Pullman and Ramirez and it makes me want more collaborations between the cast.

They clearly have fun working together and it would be fun to see them back in action once more. I know we could see them in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with one another but it isn’t the same as working on a Haynes film together. Whether we see them in Top Gun 3, the MCU, or this film, fans love them together!


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Rachel Leishman
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.