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Everything we know (so far) about the Top Gun sequel

Paramount

NICK ROMANO 

Hopefully more Top Gun means more sweaty slow-motion shirtless volleyball sequences, but even if it doesn’t, the new movie sequel from director Joseph Kasinski (Oblivion, TRON: Legacy) hopes to reclaim some of the 1986 movie’s magic.


Paramount Pictures is bringing some new and familiar faces together to continue the saga of reckless fighter pilot Lieutenant Peter “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick. Peter Craig, Justin Marks, and Eric Warren Singer are on screenplay duties and the production began filming in May, as evidenced by Tom Cruise’s photo of Maverick gazing longingly at his airborne chariot.

We know you have questions. We have answers… for the most part. Here are all the updates on Top Gun: Maverick (so far) neatly compiled together.

Where did we leave off in the Top Gun cinematic universe?

After both wowing and angering the Top Gun flight academy, Maverick was offered any job he wanted for his part in fending off Russian MiGs in a “crisis situation.” He chose to return to Top Gun as an instructor.

The headstrong pilot’s rule-breaking aero-acrobatics inadvertently contributed to the death of his comrade Nick “Goose” Bradshaw. The incident threw him into a moment of self-reflection that brought the emotional payoff of the final rescue mission — and earned Maverick the respect of Iceman, his former flight academy rival.

Who from the first film is returning for Maverick?

Cruise, obviously, is back in the saddle. Anthony Edwards, meanwhile, probably won’t be. (Goooooose!)

Val Kilmer has been talking about a Top Gun sequel for years and will now return in his role of Lieutenant Tom “Iceman” Kazansky. In 2015, Kilmer wrote in a Facebook post that he had been offered a role in the movie, but admitted shortly thereafter “I jumped the gun.” In 2017, he donned an Iceman shirt and teased, “Still got it… just sayin…” It’s all now official.

Who are the newcomers?

The list of actors joining Top Gun: Maverick continues to stretch, but the biggest addition is Miles Teller (Whiplash, Only the Brave) as the son of Goose.

Other new cast members that EW can confirm include Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Lewis Pullman, Glen Powell, Charles Parnell, Jay Ellis, Bashir Salahuddin, Danny Ramirez, and Monica Barbaro. Thomasin McKenzie, the breakout star of Leave No Trace, had also been attached to the production at one point but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. The 18-year-old is in demand!

What is the sequel about?

Official plot details are under wraps, but that’s not to say there haven’t been clues.

Connelly will play a single mother working at a bar near the air base, while Ellis, Ramirez, and Barbaro will play pilots and Salahuddin will play an engineer. According to Deadline, Maverick is now an instructor at the flight academy who reportedly takes Goose’s son under his wing.

There’s a brief moment in the first film where we see Goose’s baby boy. Does this kid grow up to resent Maverick for the part played in his father’s death? Does he seek Maverick out to learn more about the father he lost? Does he see Maverick is a father figure?

When will Maverick open in theaters?

Top Gun: Maverick is scheduled to open in theaters on July 12, 2019.