Tom Cruise dazzles Cannes Film Festival at Top Gun premiere

Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly and Miles Teller dazzled on the red carpet in Cannes at the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick.

It was the first time Cruise, 59, has attended the film festival in the south of France for 30 years.

Joining Cruise were his co-stars, Connelly, 51, who plays Penny Benjamin, and Teller, 35, who portrays Bradley Bradshaw.

The Top Gun sequel directed by Joseph Kosinski is in cinemas from May 27, 36 years after the original was released in 1986.

Cruise will reprise his role as US naval aviator Pete Mitchell, with Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman and Ed Harris also in the cast.

The film was originally due for release in July 2019 but was repeatedly pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cruise’s whirlwind appearance at Cannes saw him walk the red carpet, receive a surprise Palme d’Or and watch a squadron of French fighter jets fly over the European premiere of his new film.

The honourary award was presented to the actor on stage before the screening began and recognised his work in Top Gun as well as roles in a host of classic films including Rain Man, Vanilla Sky, Jerry Maguire, The Last Samurai and his action blockbuster series Mission: Impossible.

During a short Q&A session, Cruise was asked if he was ever tempted to steer the film to a streaming service and said: “No, that’s not going to happen ever,.

He also discussed how filming the 1981 drama Taps with Hollywood veteran George C. Scott had been a formative experience.“Please,” Cruise said he thought at the time, “if I could just do this for the rest of my life, I will never take it for granted.”

The 75th Cannes Film Festival is also expected to see star-studded premieres for films including new biopic Elvis, in which Austen Butler portrays the king of rock and roll.

Films starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba and Kristen Stewart are also due to be unveiled at the festival.