Val Kilmer will reprise his role as Iceman alongside Tom Cruise in the “Top Gun” sequel set to come out next summer.
The 58-year-old actor — who is probably best known for his role as Cruise’s fighter pilot rival in the 1986 hit — is coming back to do “Top Gun: Maverick,” according to The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday.
Tom Cruise broke the news last week that production had started and included a great shot of him standing on an airfield under the headline that read, “Feel The Need.”
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the movie will reportedly deal with the challenges veteran fighter pilots must face in the world of drone technology.
“The Navy is very different now than it was in 1986,” Kosinski explained in an interview in October. “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, 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.”
“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,” he added. “The approach is going to be appropriate for the times we live in.”
“Top Gun: Maverick” is set to hit theaters July 12, 2019.