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Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies.
After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back.
The number 1 movie on Apple TV all over the world comes off as the perfect unofficial sequel to one of the action films from recent years.
Apple TV offers a wide selection of movies and TV shows from diverse genres. While it is primarily known for its impressive sci-fi catalog, the streaming service has only been growing from strength to strength even when it comes to other genres. The latest addition to its action movie repertoire, which is trending #1, perfectly proves this.
Interestingly, the movie in question also seems like the stealth follow-up to an incredible action movie from 2022 that boasts a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%.
F1: The Movie Is A Spiritual Successor To Top Gun: Maverick
Joseph Kosinski's F1 had a promising theatrical run in 2025 as it earned $631.7 million against a budget of $200–300 million. It is, to date, not only the highest grossing movie in Brad Pitt's career but also the highest-earning film by Apple Studio. Owing to this, it is not surprising that it is trending above all other films on the streaming service right now (via Flix Patrol).
A closer look at F1 reveals that it is reminiscent of Joseph Kosinski's 2022 hit, Top Gun: Maverick, in more ways than one.
In both, the main characters are portrayed as aging veterans in their fields who get a final shot at redemption and mentoring a new generation. While Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes in F1, Tom Cruise returns to portray Pete Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick.
Brad Pitt's Sonny also exhibits the same level of charismatic cockiness as Cruise's Maverick in Top Gun, where he ensures extreme precision during races. This eventually allows both characters to make high-stakes decisions where one mistake could prove fatal.
Apart from featuring similar "legacy hero" tropes, both films also heavily focus on authenticity instead of relying on CGI.
Just like the actors in Top Gun: Maverick flew real F-18s, Brad Pitt and Damson Idris drove real modified racing cars up to 180 mph on real Grand Prix weekends (via AP News). Speaking of the actors, the two movies also have a hidden F1 racer link: Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton was offered a role in Top Gun: Maverick but had to turn it down due to his F1 racing commitments. The race car driver later ended up becoming a producer and consultant for the F1 movie to ensure the authenticity of its racing sequences.
How Top Gun: Maverick And F1 Explore Similar Themes
The aging heroes in both films are haunted by the ghosts of their past. While Maverick still grieves Goose's death and becomes overprotective towards his deceased friend's son, Sonny remains traumatized by an accident that forced him to end his career too soon. Both lone wolves end up serving as mentors to resentful students before their dynamic improves, and they teach them the importance of instinct in high-stakes situations.
Put simply, both Top Gun: Maverick and F1 walk through second-chance narratives where characters return to form not to solely retain their lost glory but to pass the torch and cement their legacies in an honorable way.
What Is Joseph Kosinski Directing Next?
After Top Gun: Maverick and F1, it is hard not to be excited about Joseph Kosinki's next movie project. The director's fans would be excited to know that he is helming a Miami Vice movie, which could feature Glen Powell and Michael B. Jordan as its leads. He is also linked to an untitled thriller, which has been written by Zach Baylin of Creed III's fame.
Although none of these projects have confirmed release windows yet, F1's theatrical and Apple TV success raises a lot of anticipation for Kosinski's upcoming projects.
English (US) ·