Top Gun: Maverick writer's cousin claims to have written key scenes in lawsuit

Shaun Gray, VFX artist and cousin to Top Gun: Maverick writer Eric Singer, has filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, claiming that he was not given credit or compensation for writing key scenes in the movie.

As per Variety, Gray claims that he worked alongside Singer for five months on the script, writing key action scenes and kept "meticulous, time-stamped files" of his contributions. Gray has worked with Singer before, being credited as a writer's assistant on The International, as well as a writing consultant on Only the Brave.

"This action seeks justice for Gray, a talented screenwriter, manipulated and exploited by Hollywood power players, and demands accountability from Defendants that profited prodigiously by misappropriating Gray's creative work," reads the lawsuit.

However, Paramount believes there isn't much to the case. "This lawsuit, like the one previously brought by Mr. Toberoff in an attempt to benefit off of the success of Top Gun: Maverick, is completely without merit," reads a statement from a Paramount spokesperson.

The reference to Toberoff involves a previous lawsuit brought against Paramount by Gray's lawyer, Marc Toberoff, who sued Paramount on behalf of Ehud Yonay, the writer who penned the 1983 article on which the original Top Gun was based.

Regarding the recent suit, Gray claims he wrote a dozen action scenes for the film, which made it the hit it became. We'll have to see what the court thinks of this as the suit progresses.