The past becomes the future in the newest trailer for “Top Gun: Maverick,” the long-awaited sequel to the original 1986 hit.
The trailer, which dropped Tuesday, features plenty of planes zipping through the sky, with Cruise reprising his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, returning to train a new generation of Navy pilots.
There’s also an Iceman sighting. Iceman, of course, was Maverick’s rival in the original “Top Gun,” famously portrayed by Val Kilmer.
“Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. Let me be perfectly blunt: You are not my first choice. You are here at the request of Admiral Kazansky, aka Iceman,” Jon Hamm‘s character, Cyclone, says, while the camera pans to a picture of Iceman.
“He seems to think that you have something left to offer the Navy. What that is, I can’t imagine.”
“With all due respect, sir, I’m not a teacher,” Maverick says over footage of him flying. “I just want to manage expectations.”
There are then stunning visuals of planes flying (and maybe an explosion or two), while Maverick dispenses his wisdom.
“You think up there, you’re dead. Believe me,” he says.
Maverick also has to find a way to find some common ground with Rooster, the son of his late friend Goose, played by Anthony Edwards, who died in the original movie.
“My dad believed in you,” Rooster, played by Miles Teller, says, while a picture of Maverick and Goose flashes across the screen. “I’m not going to make the same mistake.”
There also appear to be some other callbacks to the first movie in the trailer, including a shot of what looks like officers singing in a bar, much like Cruise did when he led a watering hole in "You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin.'" There’s also a quick shot of Cruise jetting along on his motorcycle with Jennifer Connelly, much like he did with Kelly McGillis.
The prospect of Kilmer appearing in the movie may be a thrill for fans. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 and had a tracheotomy, affecting his ability to talk. Despite that, he is part of the sequel.
“No spoilers, but he’s in the movie,” producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Yahoo Entertainment in 2020.
Bruckheimer also said Cruise is the reason Kilmer is in the film.
“We all wanted him, but Tom was really adamant that if he’s going to make another ‘Top Gun,’ Val had to be in it,” he told People in 2021.
“Top Gun: Maverick,” which has experienced numerous delays due to the pandemic after it was initially supposed to come out in 2020, is now due to land in theaters May 27.