'top Gun: Maverick' Filmmakers Drive Into Formula One, With Brad Pitt And Lewis Hamilton

"Top Gun: Maverick" filmmaker Joseph Kosinski came to Formula One like many Americans: "Drive to Survive."

In that popular Netflix series, he saw the potential for a cinematic event, full of immersive thrills, the high stakes of the competitive racing world and the idea that your teammate could be your greatest rival.

"I don't think there's any other sport that's quite like that," Kosinski said. "It's ripe for drama."

The movies have loved car racing since their earliest days, and the popularity of F1 has exploded in recent years. Giving it the "Top Gun" treatment made sense. But it would take nearly four years for that dream to become "F1," which is speeding into movie theaters on June 27.

It was a complex operation that would involve unprecedented coordination with the league, groundbreaking innovation in camera technology, and letting one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Brad Pitt , drive a real race car at 180 miles an hour on film. Many, many times.