Tom Cruise doubted that he would ever make 'Top Gun: Maverick'.

The 59-year-old actor returns as Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell for the hotly-anticipated sequel to the 1986 movie 'Top Gun' and he took a long time deliberating whether to greenlight the blockbuster.

Speaking at the 'Top Gun: Maverick' UK Premiere in London on Thursday (19.05.22), Tom said: "It really didn't come close until I said I'm ready to do it. I was constantly evolving the story and characters saying. It was really the philosophy of 'How do I approach it? How do we approach it to create an environment where it had the potential to be something very special?'"

The movie has received rave reviews as it finally hits cinemas after numerous delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Tom was thrilled to be back at a major movie event.

The 'Mission: Impossible' star said: "Making movies, that's the dream. I want people to feel that and to have whatever film I'm making be engaged.

"Here we are all back together having this experience and that's why you want to see a movie in the theatre and on the big screen."

Tom was quizzed on whether he would make a sequel to another one of his classic films but he only wants to focus on 'Top Gun: Maverick' for the time being.

He said: "Not tonight. Tonight is about 'Top Gun: Maverick' and enjoying this moment and time period we are in. I just want to think about this right now."