Val Kilmer Says There Was A Special Bond Between Top Gun Stars

There are plenty of stories in Hollywood about toxic film sets, where actors and directors have clashed and the moviemaking process has been a chore. That isn’t something that ever happened during filming of the original Top Gun, as Val Kilmer recalled the real bond between everyone who worked on the movie, something that has seemingly carried over into its belated sequel. With Kilmer and Cruise reuniting in Top Gun: Maverick, it seems that now has been the perfect time to recall what it was like working on the original Top Gun 36 years ago.

Top Gun did not exactly blow away the critics when it made its cinematic debut in 1986, but like many movies of the decade, it was a success and is fondly remembered by many. For that reason, the news of a sequel being made a few years ago seemed to be leading to another middle-of-the-road nostalgia ride that would probably do reasonably well at the box office and if it was luck not put a smudge on the memories of the original movie. Now Top Gun: Maverick is blasting its way up the chart of the year’s biggest movies and is expected to be the first Tom Cruise movie to break the $1 billion.

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For Kilmer, it has been a special return, especially considering how he almost declined a role in the original movie and had to be coaxed into it by director Tony Scott’s enthusiasm for the project. While speaking to EW, Kilmer commented on the sense of camaraderie felt on the original movie, and how it was a really joyful experience. He said:

“We were all so young during the making of the first movie, but even then there was a special bond between us all. Even after shooting we would laugh and dance the night away!”

Tom Cruise Insisted Val Kilmer Should Return for Top Gun: Maverick

     Paramount Pictures  

Other than Tom Cruise’s Maverick, Val Kilmer’s Tom “Iceman” Kazansky is the only other star to return for the sequel, and that is something that comes down to Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s insistence that Kilmer needed to be part of Maverick’s story in the new movie. That of course has paid off, with the on-screen reunion between the characters being one of the most emotional moments in the film.

While Top Gun: Maverick has massively surpassed expectations at the box office, that doesn’t mean that there will be any future Top Gun movies, at least not featuring Cruise or Kilmer. After managing to make a movie that not only retains the reputation of the original but actually enhances it, there is always going to be a temptation to try and capitalize on the franchise even more with its new-found popularity. With Paramount currently wanting to expand their range of TV shows on Paramount+, there is every possibility that they could even look to turn Top Gun into a series as they have with a number of other IPs. For now, the Top Gun story seems to be done, but everyone thought the same thing three decades ago.