The family behind the man who wrote the article, which inspired the original Top Gun film are suing Paramount Pictures

A fresh lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleges the filmmaker did not acquire the rights before the release of Top Gun: Maverick.

It’s believed the original film was based on a 1983 article, where two pilots are taking a course with the Navy Fighter Weapons School.

The article was written by Ehud Yonay, but his widow and son claim the rights to the famous story reverted back to them on 24 January 2020.

Yonay’s original article was published in California magazine before Paramount acquired the exclusive motion picture rights.

The original film was then released in 1986 and went on to become the number one film of the year.

The lawsuit says Paramount has been on notice since 2018 about the family’s intentions to recover the copyright. But the company says the claims are “without merit”, and has vowed to fight the allegations.

The film’s sequel has been in development for many years but was delayed because of the pandemic.

Top Gun: Maverick has spent two weeks on top of the box office and made over $557 million in ticket sales worldwide.