Val Kilmer reprising his character Tom “Iceman” Kazansky for the Top Gun: Maverick sequel is extra special when considering an original movie detail that could have drastically changed the course of his role in the franchise. More than thirty years after the first Top Gun film was released, a new group of the US Navy’s Top Gun graduates were led into the charge to destroy an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant by alum, Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Tom Cruise returned as the titular franchise protagonist to ensure the group’s success three decades after his own first Top Gun mission.
Cruise and the rest of Top Gun: Maverick’s cast of characters reignited the classic saga as members of a fresh and exciting premise, while the overall film evoked major nostalgic elements of the ’80s original movie. Top Gun also reinstated the bond between Cruise and Kilmer’s characters in a very special reunion that was perfectly sentimental and a considerable narrative arc in the sequel. While the continuation of their bond was indeed a major moment, especially toward Top Gun: Maverick’s ending, Kilmer’s reprisal as Cruise’s wingman was particularly special because he originally did not want to be in the original film.
Val Kilmer Became The Heart Of Top Gun 2 After Not Wanting To Work On The Original Movie
Despite playing a substantial supporting role in the franchise, initially, Kilmer didn’t want a part in Top Gun. In the Amazon documentary Val, where Kilmer tells the story of his life, he admitted he was disinterested in acting in the original movie because he “felt the script was silly and disliked warmongering films.” Even more to the point, Kilmer’s memoir I’m Your Huckleberry corroborates his initial refusal to star in the debut movie, as he sabotaged his Top Gun audition with flat acting and indifference.
Still, though, Kilmer was cast as “Iceman” Kazansky and became a crucial presence within the franchise. In the original film, Kilmer’s character famously transcended beyond serving as Mitchell’s egotistical arch-rival into becoming his trusted friend as well as a hero of Top Gun’s crisis situation. Similarly, Kilmer’s role in the sequel proved essential and was arguably the heart of the entire Top Gun: Maverick story, which is quite remarkable knowing that Kilmer didn’t want the character role in the first place.
Why Iceman’s Return Is So Important In Top Gun 2
Kilmer’s role reprisal was in fact integral to Top Gun: Maverick and came with a great amount of responsibility. Much of the story’s sentiment surmounted from Iceman’s reunion with Mitchell and how their bond from the original movie had only strengthened over time. Their affiliation with each other went so far as to motivate major events in the sequel’s storyline.
At the beginning of Top Gun: Maverick it is revealed that Mitchell would have been grounded indefinitely because of repeated insubordination had it not been for Iceman’s intervention. Later, when Mitchell struggles to lead his Top Gun students, especially his ambitious mentee Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (the son of Mitchell’s deceased best friend), Iceman comes to his rescue with pivotal and life-changing advice. Unfortunately, Iceman succumbs to illness by the end of Top Gun: Maverick and might not be involved in a potential third movie at all. Still, Iceman’s legacy will remain ever-present in the franchise, despite the character’s death and Val Kilmer’s initial reservations at the franchise’s inception.