The actor who played “Wolfman” in the original Top Gun is suing Paramount Pictures over what he claims is the unauthorized use of his likeness in the 2022 sequel.
Barry Tubb, the actor who played Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe in the 1986 movie Top Gun, filed a complaint Wednesday in California court.
Tubb claims that any permission to use his likeness “did not include the use of his image in the sequel,” the massively successful Top Gun: Maverick.
The scene that raised the objection features an old photo of Iceman (Val Kilmer), Goose (Anthony Edwards), Maverick (Tom Cruise), and Wolfman.
The complaint states that the image is “a four-shot close-up clearly establishing plaintiff,” and “[Tubb’s] likeness in the scene is essential in a way that is not incidental.” The papers allege that the photo is actually an altered version of a behind-the-scenes shot of the original actors, and therefore the alterations “destroyed any purported copyright” to the image.
Deadline has reached out to Paramount for comment.
Tubb’s complaint asserts that the studio “never sought consent or authority to use plaintiff’s image for any purpose in Top Gun: Maverick and the original contract signed by plaintiff and Paramount did not contemplate use of his image beyond the original Top Gun or in promotions related to Top Gun: Maverick; a sequel not contemplated at the time of the original contract and not released until 2022, almost four decades after the original Top Gun.”
Tubb is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and is demanding a trial by jury.