The highway to the danger zone passes through the NW

The summer movie blockbuster season kicks off this weekend with the release of a sequel to the 1980s hit "Top Gun." And Northwest moviegoers may see some familiar Puget Sound scenery in the background.

"Top Gun: Maverick" brings actor Tom Cruise back to his role as the ace Navy fighter pilot.

Cruise reportedly insisted on filming the aerial action in real fighter jets and rejected using computer-generated imagery. So Paramount Pictures struck an agreement with the Navy. A copy, first obtained by the website The War Zone, shows Cruise and company set up shop at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in spring 2019. It was hush-hush at the time, but now the results are on-screen.

Whidbey Island Navy Growler jets fly fast and low through the Cascade Mountains, swooping over reservoirs, snow-capped ridges and dodging peaks.

In the movie, this climactic footage is presented as a secret mission against an unnamed rogue state. But now you know, it's really the scenic but noisy, low-level flight training routes long used by the military in the Northwest.

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