The actor has filed a lawsuit against the studio after verifying that he appears in the 2022 film, without having been consulted about it.
Top Gun: Maverick was one of the films highest grossing of 2022; In fact, it would have been number 1 had it not been for the fact that Avatar: The Sense of Water was released that same year. The sequel brought Tom Cruise back to theaters as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell more than three and a half decades after the release of the original film.
As expected, Top Gun Maverick is loaded with nostalgia for fans of Top Gun Air Idols)the now classic Tony Scottwhich includes some glimpses into the past, either in flashback form or through old photographs, although not always with the proper permissions.
And that is precisely what brings us here today. As Entertainment Weekly reports, Paramount Pictures has been sued for including the image of one of the actors from the original film in Top Gun: Maverick without his consent.
Has been Barry Tubbthe actor who played Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe in the original film, who has filed this complaint against the studio.
A unique lawsuit for Top Gun: Maverick
The scene of discord occurs when Hangman (Glen Powell) and Coyote (Greg Tarzan Davis) discover that Rooster Bradshaw (Miles Teller) is the son of Goose (Anthony Edwards).
The discovery occurs through a photo in which Iceman (Val Kilmer), Goose, Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Wolfman appear during their stay in Top Gun.
The problem is that, according to Tubb, Paramount did not consider it necessary to consult him or offer him to appear in the film, they simply included his image in it to appeal to nostalgia.
“Plaintiff never consented to Paramount using his image, likeness and/or identity in Top Gun: Maverick. Therefore, Paramount's conduct is deceptive in falsely and fraudulently representing that Plaintiff was hired to perform in Top Gun: Maverick or promote, advertise, market or endorse the film on behalf of Paramount.”
We will have to see what happens in this lawsuit by Barry Tubb against Paramount. Although the photo appears for only a moment in Top Gun Maverick, it is enough to support his complaint. It is a different matter for Justice to side with him.