Top Gun: Maverick takes place decades after the original film, but in the trailer (and promotional poster), Maverick dons his old leather jacket. It might look like it’s the same as the one in the original film, but it’s not.
As pointed out on Taiwan News and Toychan, a patch on Maverick’s leather jacket has been altered.
In the 1986 film, the patch read, “Far East Cruise 63-4 USS Galveston” and featured flags for the U.S., the United Nations, Japan, and Taiwan. According to Taiwan News, the patch references an actual U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser that was deployed to the waters surrounding Taiwan and Japan.
For the sequel, the patch now reads “Indian Ocean Cruise 85-86 United States Navy” and no longer features the Japanese and Taiwanese flags. As noted on Military.com, it is unclear what these new flags refer to. The surrounding patches do not appear to have been altered.
China’s Tencent Pictures partnered with Paramount Pictures for Top Gun: Maverick, leading to speculation as to why this patch was changed. However, as reported on Livedoor, neither Tencent or Paramount have yet to comment.