Spoiler alert! If you haven’t yet seen Top Gun: Maverick, there are some major spoilers and plot points ahead!
For Tom Cruise and the creative team behind Top Gun: Maverick, there were many factors to consider when it came to developing the long-awaited sequel to the beloved 1986 action flick. From a storyline that brought Cruise’s character, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, back on board with a cast of talented young recruits, to the logistics of filming in real-life fighter jets, the producers and stars pulled out all the stops to create a jaw-dropping follow-up to the high-flying original.
Of course, that also meant answering some questions about Maverick’s closest relationships from the original film. His best friend and flying partner, Goose (Anthony Edwards), died during a heartbreaking Top Gun scene, but his son, Rooster (Miles Teller) joins the team as one of the talented young trainees, with a major chip on his shoulder. And while Kelly McGillis and Meg Ryan also didn’t return in the film, Jennifer Connelly stars as Penny, an on-again, off-again love interest of Maverick’s who is referenced in the first film simply as “the admiral’s daughter.”
And then there’s Iceman. Val Kilmer starred in Top Gun as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, a cocky rival of Maverick’s who earns a begrudging mutual respect by the end of the film. But bringing back the character was complicated by Kilmer’s real-life health struggles. The actor underwent a tracheotomy several years ago as a part of his fight against throat cancer, which drastically changed the way he speaks.
Kilmer’s presence is felt throughout the movie, even though the actor only appears in person in one scene. Unlike Maverick, Iceman followed the Navy’s planned career trajectory and has become a four-star admiral. It’s clear in Maverick that the pair’s former rivalry blossomed over the years into a genuine friendship — they regularly trade text messages and Iceman is name-dropped as the member of the Navy brass who most often gets Maverick out of whatever bureaucratic scrapes he finds himself in.
The emotional gut-punch is saved for the second half of the movie, when Maverick receives a message from Iceman’s wife, warning him that the admiral’s illness — unnamed in the film, but seemingly similar to Kilmer’s real-life cancer battle — has returned and he has taken a turn for the worse.
Maverick visits his old friend, who communicates mostly through typing and text-to-speech technology. However, at the end of their conversation, the two men stand to say an emotional farewell and Kilmer uses his real voice to give some heartfelt advice before taking one last opportunity to rib his rival-turned-friend.
“So, who was the better pilot?” he teases.
Maverick just smiles, and gives it right back, replying, “Let’s not ruin a nice moment.”