CineEurope: Paramount Previews ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Quiet Place’ Sequels and Sonic, Dora and SpongeBob Movies

Paramount Pictures put on a memorable show Wednesday for gathered exhibitors on the third day of CineEurope in Barcelona.

The upcoming slate, presented by Paramount co-president, worldwide marketing and distribution Mary Daily and president, international theatrical distribution Mark Viane, draws heavily from the studio’s catalog of originals, series and franchises, most notably the highly anticipated Top Gun: Maverick sequel, coming more than 30 years after the original Jerry Bruckheimer 1986 classic that solidified Tom Cruise’s iconic status.

Paramount offered a sneak peek at footage in Barcelona from what are understood to be some of the most complex aerial stunts ever filmed. The film will be, in Viane’s words, a “unique visceral and cinematic experience” and star Cruise and original Top Gun actor Val Kilmer along with a cast that includes Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris for director Joseph Kosinski. It’s slated for a summer 2020 release.

Cruise is also starring in Mission Impossible: 7 and Mission Impossible: 8 for summer 2021 and summer 2022 releases, respectively.

Paramount also passed out 3D glasses to the Barcelona crowd to watch 15 minutes of Ang Lee’s Gemini Man, which stars Will Smith opposite a fully CG version of his younger self and was made incorporating high frame rates.

In a video introduction, Smith vowed that “The emotional and physical challenge in this film was really insane for me,” but that the story offers “a marriage of nuanced, relatable characters with some crazy action” and should have “something for everyone.”

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Paramount’s animation division is working on The Spongebob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge in 3D CGI for a 2020 release, but the CineEurope crowd didn’t see footage. Clips and an introductory video from co-star Eugenio Derbez were shown for Dora & the Lost City of Gold, as was early concept art for Rumble.

The Barcelona audience was also treated to clips and the latest trailer of Sonic the Hedgehog, including a trailer dedicated to Jim Carrey in the role of Dr. Robotnik. Daily quipped that a “face-lift” was pushing the film’s release back to February 2020.

In horror, Paramount talked up sequel A Quiet Place: Part II, which director-star John Krasinski called a “movie about growing up” in an introductory video, and showed exclusive clips and the latest trailer from Crawl, which turns on a father and daughter trapped in a flooded house, surrounded by killer crocodiles, following a category 5 hurricane in Florida.

Trailers for two other upcoming films were shared Wednesday: female-led corporate espionage comedy Hostile Makeover (formerly Limited Partners) — starring Salma Hayek, Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne — and Playing with Fire, about a group of tough firemen, led by John Cena, John Leguizamo and Keegan-Michael Key, who are tasked with caring for three young children. In an opening video, Cena jokingly addressed the “Cena-Europe” audience.

Paramount chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos finally took the stage to introduce other projects in the works at Paramount for 2020 and beyond. “Talent is vital to the filmmaking and theatergoing experience,” he said.

Included in the reel of upcoming projects were Coming 2 America, the Eddie Murphy sequel to the 1988 hit; Monster Problems; Clifford the Big Red Dog; The Lovebirds, starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani; The Rhythm Section; Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, starring Michael B. Jordan; Dungeons & Dragons; and G.I. Joe.

Viane and Daily are receiving CineEurope’s International Distributor of the Year Award on Thursday.