Zack Sharf “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski told Empire magazine that he shot approximately 800 hours of footage for the long-in-the-works Tom Cruise action sequel. The filmmaker put that number into perspective by saying the sequel “shot as much footage as the three ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies combined.” Kosinski reunited with his “Oblivion” star Cruise for “Top Gun: Maverick,” which takes place over 30 years after Tony Scott’s 1986 classic.“Out of a 12 or 14-hour day, you might get 30 seconds of good footage,” Kosinski said about why so much footage was shot. “But it was so hard-earned.