‘Top Gun: Maverick’: What Director Joseph Kosinski Has to Say About Cutting Manny Jacinto’s Scenes
Top Gun: Maverick features an incredible cast. In addition to Tom Cruise returning as Maverick, the Top Gun sequel introduces new characters played by Miles Teller, Jay Ellis, Glen Powell, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Monica Barbero. However, not every new cast member made the cut including Manny Jacinto, and Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski explains why.
Manny Jacinto had a small role in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Manny Jacinto may not be an actor who everyone recognizes, but he does have a solid enough fan base that some noticed he didn’t have any lines in Top Gun: Maverick. The actor has appeared in projects like The Good Place, I Want You Back on Amazon Prime Video, and Nine Perfect Strangers.
Jacinto is known more for his comedic roles but has proven in smaller parts that he can handle more of the dramatic performances. Unfortunately, he did not get to show off his skills in a movie as successful as Top Gun: Maverick. However, Kosinski says it has nothing to do with his performance.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ director Joseph Kosinski explains why Jacinto’s lines were cut
In an interview with Indiewire, director Kosinski explains why some scenes and characters were cut from the final cut of Top Gun: Maverick. The director says that for the story to work as well as it does, some things had to be cut including Jacinto’s lines. Some other cast members who had their lines cut are Jack Schumacher, Jake Picking, Raymond Lee, and Kara Wang.
“When we shot the film, everybody had lines, everybody had scenes, so it was all there in the script and in shooting it,” the director said. “And there are great scenes that are on the cutting-room floor. There’s a great scene in the infirmary with Cyclone [Hamm] and Phoenix [Barbero] and Bob [Pullman] after their accident. There’s a great scene of Tom staring up at the old F-14 on the pole, outside the Navy base.”
“You just don’t have room to fit everything in. You need to be a mercenary, which is what I’ve learned from Tom and [editor] Eddie [Hamilton]. You end up throwing out stuff that you are sure, when you’re shooting it, will absolutely be in the movie. When you’re coming down to the final cut and focusing on the story you’re telling, stuff has to fall away for the good of the film.”
“Unfortunately for Manny, Kara, Jake, Raymond, and Jack, their lines didn’t make it into the final film. It has nothing to do with their performance or their abilities at all; it only has to do with the story of the film and trying to make the best version.”
Could Jacinto appear in ‘Top Gun 3?’
So far, Top Gun: Maverick is the highest-grossing movie of 2022, grossing over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Paramount has not said if there will be a Top Gun 3 yet, but director Kosinski says it all depends on Cruise. Perhaps there is hope that Manny Jacinto could return to Top Gun.
“It took 36 years for Tom to agree to do this one,” Kosinski said. “It’s up to him. He’s the one that has to be convinced. That’s how this project started, with Jerry and I going to Paris to talk Tom into it. It’s all about story. It’s all about emotion. If we can figure out a way, a journey for Maverick to go back and be with these young pilots and figure something out, maybe it could happen. I think for now, we should just enjoy that we got this one.”
Top Gun: Maverick is currently in theaters.
