Original ‘Top Gun’ Actor Suing Over 'Unauthorized' Appearance in Sequel
An actor from the original Top Gun has filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures over use of his image in the hit 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick, per World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR), who reviewed the lawsuit.
Barry Tubb, who played Henry “Wolfman” Ruth in the original Top Gun, filed a suit in the US District Court for the Central District of California on February 21 over what he says is the unauthorized use of his likeness during key scenes in Maverick. Tubb is included alongside Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, and Anthony Edwards in still photos showing the original 1986 classmates.
Tubb is featured during several scenes in Maverick, most notably in a photograph of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer which recurs several times in the movie. It features Tubb standing directly in the center and looking to the camera, arguably the most prominent cast member in the picture.
He also appears a few times around the 45-minute mark, in a scene where Glen Powell looks at and discusses a separate photograph where Tubb is positioned directly behind Cruise.
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However, the images that Paramount used of Tubb for Maverick are not ones taken from the first Top Gun, but rather manipulated from personal photographs of the actor and the film’s Navy consultants taken on the set back in ‘86. Tubb and his attorneys are arguing that, by sourcing the photo that way, Paramount nullified any potential copyright claims to Tubb’s image.
Tubb contends that Paramount did not approach him to ask permission to use his image, nor did they compensate him for his brief appearance in the sequel. Paramount is accused of “intentionally misappropriating” Tubb’s image, which has “utterly deprived plaintiff of the right and ability to negotiate the price of using his image or, ultimately, to say ‘no’ to its use” the suit alleges.
Tubb is seeking unspecified damages.
Top Gun: Maverick was a runaway hit at the box office, grossing $1.4 billion worldwide. A third film is already in the works.