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China Out? Top Gun: Maverick Restores Taiwanese & Japanese Flag Patches
When that first teaser for Top Gun: Maverick was released nearly two years ago, readers of this website observed that Tom Cruise’s bomber jacket lacked the Taiwanese and Japanese flag patches that were visible in the previous film. It was assumed that, in order to achieve a lucrative release on Chinese screens, the company had decided to erase China’s adversary.
There’s a new Top Gun movie coming out. And Maverick is wearing the same leather jacket – only this time it’s Communist Party of China-approved, so the Japanese and Taiwanese flag patches are gone (screenshot on right is from the new trailer)… pic.twitter.com/gUxFNFNUKX
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) July 19, 2019
It’s already about 25 years too late, Tom, but your post-production crew can spend this extra time replacing the Japanese and Taiwanese flag patches that went missing from from Cpt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s jacket.
(Psst. China appeasement ain’t such a good look these days.) https://t.co/TRWSmrgUSd
— Bleeding Fool (@BleedingFool) April 3, 2020
But according to Breitbart News, Paramount has restored the Taiwanese and Japanese flag patches for the sequel’s U.S. release. When Maverick (Cruise) gets the iconic jacket out of his locker and puts it on, the patches are visible.
Top Gun: Maverick was scheduled to be co-financed by Tencent, a deal that would have almost ensured a lucrative theatrical release in China, where Tom Cruise is extremely popular. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, Tencent pulled out of the film due to reservations about the storyline’s very pro-America tone. The decision has jeopardized the film’s chances of being released in China, but it also has apparently allowed the studio to reinstate the Taiwanese and Japanese flag patches. It’s been reported that Paramount has reinstated the flags for the film’s distribution in Taiwan as well.
Studios like Disney and Warner Bros. are well know for cutting characters, adding characters and even removing gay themes from films in order to secure a release in China. It’s refreshing to see that producers for Top Gun: Maverick decided to reverse their original decision.
And it certainly seems to have paid off, as Paramount and Skydance’s legacy sequel just scored the best Memorial Day opening of all time with a three-day domestic haul of $156 million for the four day weekend. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was the previous record holder with a treasure chest of $153 million. Maverick’s launch is without a doubt a career best for Tom Cruise, and is the first time he has had a film open to $100 million or more.
Maybe this means we can finally move on from the glut of superhero movies. Well done, Mr. Cruise.
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