Top Gun: Maverick sees not only Tom Cruise return in his iconic role but also Val Kilmer as “Iceman,” as well as a new crop of pilots with similarly cool monikers such as “Phoenix,” “Hangman,” “Payback,” “Fanboy,” and “Coyote.” Aviator call signs are nicknames given to many aviators in substitution of their name for communication purposes, usually being made up of wordplay with their actual names or certain personality traits they exhibit in training. Although not a strictly military tradition, for Top Gun style fighter pilots it’s a must.
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With all that in mind, Top Gun: Maverick’s marketing team made it really easy for anyone to get a proper call sign without the hassle of all the hard military training all actors had to go through as part of their respective Top Gun roles. This is thanks to a web app tool that lets users enter their names and scan their faces with the help of AR. After doing so, a brief round of questions about their personality will reveal whether they should go by “Husky” “Broadway” or something more edgy and worthy of a Mortal Kombat character like “Frost.”
The site does require users to grant camera access in order for them to secure a selfie with a pilot helmet filter they can use on social media later on. While there’s an option to select two other call signs after the process is complete, it must be noted military tradition dictates one can’t pick their own call sign. Plus, the more annoying a pilot finds the call sign that’s been given to them, the more likely it is to stick for the long run.
Top Gun: Maverick is one of the blockbisters to have been delayed countless times due to the pandemic, a choice that most likely came down to Paramount’s prior lack of access to its own streaming service with a large enough subscriber base, plus the studio’s desire to cash in as much possible on Cruise’s star power. The actor himself has said he only chose to come back as Maverick because he felt the story was compelling enough and technology had advanced sufficiently to bring a truly fantastic experience to theaters, and judging from early comments, that really seem to be the case.
Top Gun: Maverick will premiere in theaters on May 27th, 2022.
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Source: whatsmycallsign.com
