Back in May 1986, fans saw Tom Cruise as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell for the first time, in Top Gun. The movie, which is an all-time action classic, introduced us to a number of characters destined to become fan-favorites. However, arguably none came as close to immediately taking that mantle, as Val Kilmer’s LT Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, the Maverick’s biggest rival initially.
Kilmer’s Iceman finishes at the top of his class at the Top Gun Academy and proceeds to become a close ally of Cruise’s character. Being an integral part of the success that the first movie got, Kilmer was still not certain about whether he would be a part of the second movie, which came out decades later, in April 2022.
As a matter of fact, that actor himself confessed that he had even considered begging the creators, led by director Joseph Kosinski, to let him reprise his role. However, he eventually did not have to, as in Tom Cruise there was someone already looking out for him.
Val Kilmer would have begged the producers of Top Gun: Maverick to let him reprise his role as Iceman
The first movie ended with Tom Cruise’s Maverick telling Iceman that he could be his ‘wingman anytime.’ The famous dialogue saw Iceman respond by claiming the following:
Bull—-! You can be mine.
In itself, the on-screen chemistry and the fact that the two went like ‘salt and pepper,’ should have been enough for the producers to see Kilmer as an integral part of any sequel that they end up making. While the actor himself believed the same, he did consider begging when the producers of Top Gun: Maverick did not initially contact him, according to his interview with Metro.
Tom was Maverick, but Maverick’s nemesis was Iceman. The two went together like salt and pepper. It didn’t matter that the producers didn’t contact me. As The Temptations sang in the heyday of Motown soul, ‘Ain’t too proud to beg’.
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With the production nearing and Kilmer not having been approached still, there was a good chance that things could have ended with the now 64-year-old actor begging the producers for the role.
However, as producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed in another interview, Tom Cruise was not having it, and decided that he would not be a part of the sequel if Kilmer was not.
Tom Cruise fought for Val Kilmer’s Iceman to be included in Top Gun: Maverick
Bruckheimer revealed that much like the movie, in Tom Cruise Val Kilmer had a wingman who was not going to forget him. The Mission Impossible star was integral to any sequel that would be made, and he refused to be a part of the sequel if it did not include Kilmer’s character, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
[Tom] said, ‘I’m not making this movie without Val’. When we filmed it, it was a very emotional day, having Val there and seeing him work with Tom after 35 years.
And thus we had the highly successful sequel which led to box office earnings of almost $1.5 billion. It also led to Kilmer’s daughter, Mercedes, revealing exactly what he father thought of Top Gun: Maverick: (Digital Spy)
It means a lot to my dad, as he’s very proud of that film. This is what he loves to do. It was trippy, and very special, for my dad to be on set with all of his friends who made this movie when they were my age.
Needless to say, fans had similar conclusions, and the fact that multiple actors returned in the sequel to reprise roles they had initially grown famous for, meant that the sequel achieved even greater heights.