Maps of Movies
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Where Top Gun: Maverick says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
The Top Gun school is set in San Diego, but the flying was filmed in Nevada, the Cascades and the Mojave
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Scenes and places
The Darkstar test flight (2022)
Maverick, a test pilot, learns the Darkstar hypersonic program is about to be cancelled by Rear Admiral Cain. He takes the aircraft up anyway and reaches the target speed, then pushes past Mach 10.
Set in Darkstar test range, Mojave Desert, California — A restricted desert test range where the Darkstar hypersonic aircraft is flown.
The script places the scene in the Mojave Desert; the location is not otherwise named in the sources used.
Filmed at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California — A full-scale Darkstar mockup was built and filmed here, and the low-pass scene was shot here. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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Orders to Top Gun at North Island (2022)
Maverick is assigned to the Top Gun school at North Island, where Air Boss Cyclone barely tolerates him. He is told the Navy needs a teacher for a dangerous mission, not a pilot to fly it.
Set in Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego — The San Diego Navy base where Maverick reports to teach the Top Gun graduates. Google Maps · Apple Maps
North Island is a Naval Air Station on Coronado, across the bay from downtown San Diego.
Filmed at Naval Air Station North Island, Coronado, California — Filming took place around San Diego, including aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt at the base. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The Hard Deck bar (2022)
Maverick walks into the bar and runs into Penny Benjamin, his former girlfriend, who now owns the place. She recognises that he has angered another admiral and teases that his path always ends in a fighter jet.
Set in The Hard Deck bar — A bar near the naval base, run by Penny Benjamin.
The set was built for the film and the bar itself is fictional.
Filmed at Hard Deck set, NAS North Island beach — The Hard Deck set was built on the beach at the base, inspired by the real I-Bar. The coordinate is the base, not the exact set spot. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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Dogfight training in the air (2022)
Maverick dogfights his skeptical students, setting rules that nobody may go below 5,000 feet and that if he shoots one of two students, both lose. Hangman clashes with Rooster, whose father was Maverick's best friend.
Set in Top Gun training area — The air combat training area where Maverick dogfights his students; the school is set at North Island.
The real Top Gun school moved to NAS Fallon after the first film's events.
Filmed at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada — Aerial shots were filmed at the real Top Gun school's base in Nevada. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The canyon training course (2022)
The briefing for the strike mission lays out a low-altitude run in two teams through a narrow canyon that the pilots must learn to fly.
Set in Canyon training course — A narrow-canyon low-altitude course designed to match the enemy plant's approach.
The real course in the Cascades was scouted by helicopter and by an L-39 before the F/A-18s filmed.
Filmed at Cascade Mountains from NAS Whidbey Island, Washington — Cascade Mountains filming was done out of NAS Whidbey Island; the coordinate is the range, Whidbey base is 48.35194, -122.65583. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The launch from the carrier (2022)
The four jets launch from an aircraft carrier for the strike mission, with Maverick flying the lead plane and Rooster leading the second pair.
Set in Aircraft carrier flight deck — The carrier flight deck where the strike jets launch.
USS Abraham Lincoln is a Nimitz-class carrier; the filming ship was Norfolk-based per the article.
The enemy uranium plant (2022)
The plant sits in an underground bunker at the end of a canyon, defended by surface-to-air missiles, GPS jammers and fighters. The Navy has weeks before it becomes operational.
Set in Unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant, unnamed country — An underground uranium enrichment plant in an unnamed foreign country, defended by missiles and fighters.
The plant and country are fictional; the film names neither.
Characters
- Maverick — A decorated Navy test pilot who is sent to train the pilots for a dangerous mission.
- Rooster — A Top Gun graduate and the son of Maverick's deceased best friend Goose.
- Penny — Maverick's former girlfriend, who runs a bar near the naval base.
- Iceman — Maverick's friend and former rival, now commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Questions answered on the map
- Where was the Hard Deck bar from Top Gun: Maverick really built?
- Where was Darkstar's low pass really filmed?