Costner, who stars, directs, and cowrites, had to fill out the posse with accomplished creatives who could rise to the occasion. Enter Lisa Lovaas, a costume designer whose 40-year-long career includes credits on the Transformers franchise, Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise, and Renfield.

Top Gun: Maverick is not just the first time a Tom Cruise film brought in more than $100 million on opening weekend—it made nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, wildly surpassing expectations and records set by superhero blockbusters The Batman and most recently Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. These numbers are impressive on their own but in the context of empty theaters after two years of the pandemic, they are truly astonishing.