When the sequel to the 1986 Tom Cruise-led film Top Gun was announced for release in 2022, the moment felt long overdue for fans of the original movie. A follow-up to the flick had been rumored to be in development as far back as 2010, though Cruise was allegedly offered sequel opportunities even earlier. This gave fans who consider Top Gun to be in the upper tier of Cruise's acting catalog hope that there would be an eventual green light given for a return to the world of his character, Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, once more.

When that good news did eventually come in 2022, there wasn't just speculation wondering if Top Gun: Maverick could equal or sur the quality of its predecessor in of the movie itself. When Top Gun came out in '86, the soundtrack to the movie was also a breakout, especially the original songs "Danger Zone" (recorded by Kenny Loggins) and "Take My Breath Away" (cut by the band Berlin). Could the production equal that success once again, and what role would the music play in helping Maverick form into the best film that it could be all these years later?

Tom Cruise Credits Lady Gaga's "Hold My Hand" As The Heartbeat Of Top Gun: Maverick

The Actor Is A Big Fan Of The Famed Musician

While the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack does wax nostalgic to the first film by including an updated version of Loggins again performing "Danger Zone" as well as actor Miles Teller revisiting the classic Jerry Lee Lewis track "Great Balls of Fire," the indisputable centerpiece of the album is Lady Gaga. Incorporating her soaring original song "Hold My Hand" not only added star power to the soundtrack but, according to Cruise, helped Top Gun: Maverick find its "emotional core."

In an interview Cruise gave on The Late Late Show with James Corden (via Showbiz CheatSheet) during promotion for the movie, the actor explained that the production was initially having difficulty finding the right sound and tone for the sequel's music. After Gaga presented a song she had been working on for years called "Hold My Hand," however, Cruise said the track immediately brought the soundtrack together for Top Gun: Maverick in a way that "opened up" the whole movie. He referred to "Hold My Hand" as "the underlying score and the heartbeat of our film."

Gaga also helped compose the movie's score along with composer Hans Zimmer. She later said of the song on social media that "Hold My Hand" had layers for her, not only in relation to the movie, but her own psyche as well as "the nature of the world we've been living in." It was certainly the latest in many examples of Lady Gaga's ability to make signature soundtrack creativity.

Lady Gaga's Repertoire In Making Music For Films Is Becoming Legendary

She Often Hits As Well As Her Hits On The Charts

In addition to her contributions to Top Gun: Maverick, Gaga has been a prolific staple in other movies as well. She was a significant presence in and helped write several songs (including "Shallow" and "I'll Never Love Again") for 2018's A Star Is Born soundtrack (a music-related film she also acted in). The album was later nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including Song of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Gaga also did more prominent work for another music-involved acting role she had in 2024's Joker: Folie à Deux. That included an original song and a handful of popular music covers for the film's soundtrack that were significantly featured in the movie.

She also released a jazz-voiced companion album called Harlequin that was meant to further explore Gaga's Harley Quinzel character from Joker. While the production wasn't received quite as well as A Star Is Born, Gaga still excelled musically and showed that she's just as strong a presence in creating movie music as she is in developing music for the charts.