Tom Cruise Springs Major Surprise on Ohio Marching Band Following Their 'Top Gun' Tribute

The Ohio State University Marching Band can now count Tom Cruise as one of their biggest fans. The Top Gun star personally sent the band a letter praising their elaborate tribute to the 1986 action classic during a November football game halftime show. Cruise also sent the musicians Top Gun: Maverick shirts and tickets to a special screening of the highly-anticipated sequel.

The band posted a video of band director Christopher Hoch reading a letter to the band from Cruise. "The Top Gun tribute was fantastic. What a phenomenal performance – thank you," Cruise wrote. "I'd love for you all to be my guests for a special screening of Top Gun: Maverick in Columbus this spring. And best of luck to The Ohio State University in the Rose Bowl."

Back on Nov. 13, the Ohio State band performed a medley of songs from Top Gun, including "Mighty Wings," "Playing With the Boys," "Lead Me On," "Take My Breath Away," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," and "Danger Zone." They also included Harold Faltermeyer's "Top Gun Theme." The musicians even made formations inspired by the movie, including a fighter jet, a volleyball game and aviator sunglasses. They also spelled out the movie's title and "Maverick."

Top Gun helped turn Cruise into a household name, but it took almost three decades for a sequel to come together. Top Gun: Maverick finally started filming in 2018, and was originally scheduled to hit theaters in July 2019. Since 2018 though, the film has been postponed several times. In August 2018, the movie was delayed to June 2020. After the coronavirus pandemic began, Paramount delated it until December 2020, then again to July 2021. In April, it was delayed until November 2021. However, Paramount delayed the movie one final time (hopefully) in September and it will now be released on May 27, 2022. That is 36 years after the original Top Gun opened.

In Maverick, Cruise returns as Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, who is now a rest pilot and flight instructor training the next generation of fighter pilots. Val Kilmer is also back as Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, and Ed Harris also star. Joseph Kosinski, who previously worked with Cruise on Oblivion, directed the movie.