Paramount Pictures and Endeavor were looking for ways to promote the long-awaited release of Top Gun: Maverick.
The original film is a cultural force. We all know the story. A charismatic young pilot who constantly pushes the limits and his lovable comic-relief copilot is sent to train with the best of the best naval aviators. Everything about the film is iconic. Even the soundtrack went Platinum nine times. If you sing “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” at a karaoke bar, you best wear your aviators.
Meanwhile, The Late Late Show had a standout segment, “Carpool Karaoke,” where host James Cordon would drive around in a car with various celebrities and sing along to the radio.
The idea: merge these two cultural phenomena—all we needed to do was switch the carpool for the cockpit. The result: a 15-minute special edition of ‘Cockpit Karaoke’ where James Cordon is taken right into the danger zone by Tom Cruise as they relive scenes from the original film, experience real-life G-forces, and yes, they sing too.
Paramount liked the idea so much that they developed it into a 30-minute special for Paramount+.
