‘Top Gun’ Star Kelly McGillis Makes Rare Public Appearance

Top Gun star Kelly McGillis made a rare public appearance over the weekend when she was spotted out in Hendersonville, North Carolina, taking a stroll as she was captured by photographers.

McGillis, 60, donned a white t-shirt, black pants, black sandals and black sunglasses as she got out of a car and made her way on an errand, carrying a denim jacket along with her.

Photos of the actress can be seen here, with the Mirror sharing that McGillis spent the weekend volunteering at the First Congregational Church near her rural home in the area.

The actress’ outing comes amid news that a sequel to the 1986 movie has begun filming, with a release date scheduled for 2019.

McGillis played Tom Cruise’s character’s love interest, Charlie Blackwood, in the original film, though it’s not clear whether she will be returning for the sequel. The actress has appeared in dozens of films since Top Gun, with her most recent being 2017’s Maternal Secrets.

The Wrap reports that the sequel, titled Top Gun: Maverick, after Cruise’s character, has begun filming in the United States.

In addition to Cruise, Val Kilmer, who played fighter pilot Iceman in the first movie, has been confirmed to be a part of the sequel, The Hollywood Reporter shares.

The film will see Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as a flight instructor, with the Navy dealing with the rise of drones impacting the way they operate.

“The Navy is very different now than it was in 1986,” director Joseph Kosinski told Comingsoon.net. “Back then, they hadn’t been in any war for 15 or 20 years at that point. The tone of that movie and what those guys were doing was very different. Now, here in 2017, the Navy’s been at war for 20 years. It’s just a different world now, so you can’t remake the first movie. It has to adapt.”

He continued, “That being said, I certainly want to recreate the experience of that movie, which gives you a front-seat into the world of Naval aviation and what it’s like to be in a fighter jet. The approach is going to be appropriate for the times we live in.”

The original Top Gun was directed by Tony Scott, who had been working on a sequel with Cruise before his death by suicide in 2012. In addition to Cruise and McGillis, the film also starred Anthony Edwards and Tom Skerritt.

Top Gun: Maverick is scheduled for release on July 12, 2019.

Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures