Good news Top Gun fans: This icon is officially joining Tom Cruise for the sequel
When we think Top Gun, we think a lot of things. Maverick. Goose. Shirtless volleyball. And many of us, of course, think…Ice Man. Aka the iconic villain-turned-ally played by the one and only Val Kilmer. And good news, people, because Val Kilmer is officially returning for Top Gun: Maverick (or Top Gun 2 as most of us are currently calling it). The news was confirmed by EW.com on June 6th.
We’ve been waiting with bated breath for news of the Top Gun sequel ever since rumors started swirling back in 2017—and our aviators (and leather jackets) are hanging in our closets at-the-ready. (Yes, we absolutely will be donning both in theaters. Don’t @ us).
And we’ve been waiting a long time, too: The original Top Gun movie premiered 32 years ago in 1986.
After such a long hiatus, Cruise is definitely feeling the need for speed. The actor posted a June 1st Instagram pic of Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, suited up and looking out at the tarmac, with “I FEEL THE NEED” emblazoned over the image. He captioned the image: “#Day1.”
And don’t worry about the sequel straying too far from the ’80s classic; according to Cruise in a 2017 Access Hollywood interview, “Aviators are back. The need for speed—we’re gonna have big machines. It’s gonna be a competition film like the first one, and it’s gonna be in the same vein, the same tone as the first one but a progression for Maverick.”
Top Gun: Maverick hits theaters July 12, 2019, and Maverick and Iceman can be our wingmen any time.
