Top Gun was based on Ehud Yonay's 1983 article Top Guns in California magazine, which described the lives of fighter pilots at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego. Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson hired Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., who researched by sitting in on declassified training classes and flying in an F-14. Tony Scott was hired partly because of a Saab commercial, and Tom Cruise was persuaded to star after Ridley Scott convinced him. The US Navy had strong influence over the script, which moved the opening dogfight to international waters, toned down the language and changed Maverick's love interest from a Navy enlisted member to a civilian. Filming in 1985 cost the production heavily, as the Navy charged for flight operations outside normal duties and one carrier captain reportedly required payment to change course.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.