Shortly before the release of "Devotion" in 2022, Tom Cruise reprised his role as Maverick in the long-awaited sequel "Top Gun: Maverick." Hopefully, eagle-eyed audiences noticed Glen Powell as Lieutenant Jake Seresin, aka Hangman. When Glen Powell got the role in "Maverick," he already had "Devotion" in development. For many actors, having two roles in movies of the same genre in the same release year might cause conflict between studios. While "Top Gun: Maverick" is more of a contemporary action movie and "Devotion" is a period drama, they both focus on the exploits of elite fighter pilots.
Fortunately, not only did Glen Powell fit both projects into his schedule, he even got Tom Cruise's blessing. Unsure about the "Top Gun: Maverick" role, Powell called Cruise to ask for his advice, as he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I said, 'Hey, Tom, I already have a naval aviation movie that's really close to my heart.'" Cruise reportedly responded, "There's room for two. You can do 'Top Gun.' You can do 'Devotion.' You don't have to choose."
Since then, Powell's expressed gratitude to Cruise and the two studios involved (Black Label and Sony) for the opportunity to make both films, telling THR, "I feel like these are two movies that could not be more different from each other, but really complement just the love of aviation and the legacy of our men and women in uniform."
