‘Top Gun’ experience to open in Las Vegas under Paramount deal

Paramount Global and Advent Allen Entertainment plan to open a Top Gun-themed attraction in Las Vegas.

The destination is expected to debut in summer 2028 on undeveloped land next to the Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower. It will include fighter jet simulations and other immersive experiences, as well as a bar with live piano singalongs. Presumably revelers at Top Gun: Maverick’s Hard Deck restaurant will be able to belt out You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ as Tom Cruise and his co-stars famously did in the first film.

Like other film and TV studios, Paramount has been looking for new ways to cash in on its well-known characters and stories. The company has been licensing the rights to Nickelodeon kids shows, for example, to hotel and amusement park operators.

The first Top Gun was the highest grossing movie of 1986 and helped establish Cruise as an action star. The actor, now 62, reprised his role as a Navy fighter pilot in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, which took in nearly $1.5 billion in ticket sales globally. Cruise has another big picture, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, hitting theaters on Friday. It’s also being released by Paramount.

“Eatertainment” experiences have been tied to movies for years, from the Forrest Gump-themed Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. to the memorabilia-filled Planet Hollywood chain.

Advent Allen was founded by Mark Advent, who helped design the New York-New York casino in Las Vegas, and Bill Allen, former chief executive officer of Bloomin’ Brands Inc., a restaurant chain that includes Outback Steakhouse.