Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick that was released at Cannes 2022, as well as movie theaters continues to soar high at the box office. However, Paramount Pictures is unable to bask in its stupendous success as it faced a legal hurdle. The heirs of the author of “Top Guns” have sued the studio for copyright infringement.
The family (widow and son) of Ehud Yonay, the author who wrote an article “Top Guns” in 1983 say that the studio did not reacquire rights to the article, which inspired the original Top Gun” movie released in 1986. So, they have filed a lawsuit against Paramount.
Shosh and Yuval Yonay, who are the heirs of Ehud Yonay, said in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Federal Court, on Monday that they had sent a notice to Paramount in January 2018. The notice said that the heirs would reclaim copyright of the article in 2020. The shooting of Maverick began in May 2018.
Top Gun: Maverick was not completed by 2019, prior to the transfer of the copyright. It was completed in May 2021, according to the Yonays.
Although Top Gun: Maverick was scheduled to be released in July 2019, there have multiple delays in production due to normal reasons and later due to the Covid pandemic. Paramount has not officially give the timeline of completion, which will be crucial as the lawsuit proceeds.
According to AP, a spokesperson for Paramount Pictures said in a statement that the claims of the heirs were “without merit” and the studio would defend itself “vigorously.”
The original Top Gun, which was released in 1986, became the No. 1 film of the year. The sequel, Top Gun: Maverick debuted in theaters, on May 27. It has remained at the top of the box office and has made more than $557 million in global sales in two weeks. Considering its current success, the high flying sequel could also become the No.1 movie of the year.
