'Top Gun' gets 'evolution' in sequel 36 years on, says Tom Cruise.

In the new film, Tom Cruise's hotshot pilot Maverick returns to the Navy's elite TOPGUN fighter weapons school where he earned his wings to train the latest batch of cocky young aviators. Photo: AFP

It has been 36 years since Tom Cruise donned his aviators, jumped into a fighter jet and ascended Hollywood's A-list with Top Gun – and, finally, a sequel is about to land.

"I was a little slow – sometimes I'm a little slow," Cruise joked at the world premiere of Top Gun: Maverick, held aboard a retired US aircraft carrier in San Diego, California, United States recently.