Val Kilmer Returning for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Val Kilmer has reportedly been confirmed for a Top Gun Sequel titled Top Gun: Maverick.

The actor will reprise what is arguably his most beloved role in the sequel fans have waited over three decades for. The casting news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, who confirmed that Tom Cruise is also returning for the film.

The movie will be direct by Joseph Kosinski, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films along with Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media.

Right now, the movie’s projected release date is July 12, 2019. Filming is already well underway with Cruise tweeting a photo announcing the project to his fans last Wednesday with the hashtag “Day 1.”

In the original Top Gun, Cruise and Kilmer’s characters, Maverick and Iceman, respectively, developed a tentative friendship after working out their fierce rivalry on screen. The sequel will reportedly find the fighter pilots feeling ineffectual as drone strikes are making their skills irrelevant in modern war.

When Top Gun first came out, Kilmer had only two major film credits under his belt. He played the lead in the spoof comedy Top Secret!, and starred in Real Genius as well. In the years since, he has become a Hollywood icon, expanding his range from comedies into legitimate action franchises and serious dramas.

Top Gun: Maverick will be helmed by Kosinski, the same director who made Oblivion with Tom Cruise in 2013. This is not Kosinski’s first time bringing an ’80s classic back to life. In 2010, he directed TRON: Legacy, which was met with mixed reviews.

This comeback has been in the rumor mill for many years. In 2015, Kilmer mentioned the possibility in a post on Facebook, revealing that he was excited to inhabit the role of Iceman once again.

“I just got offered [Top Gun 2],” he wrote at the time. “Not often you get to say ‘yes’ without reading the script.”

“Jerry Bruckheimer and Tom Cruise!!!” he continued further down. “‘Yes.’ We will all miss Tony Scott one of the kindest gentlemen I’ve ever met in the film biz, but let’s fire up some fighter jets again!!! This is a long way off so calm down. This has been talked about for a long long time and being offered a role is very different from doing a role. I jumped the gun with my post. I jumped the topgun… An innocent mistake. It was just such a wonderful phone call with my agent…”

Four years later, Kilmer’s post will finally bear fruit. By this time next year, presale tickets for Top Gun: Maverick will likely be available.