‘Top Gun: Maverick’ producer reveals Val Kilmer will be in the movie, talks Tom Cruise’s intense training

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"Top Gun: Maverick" producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that Val Kilmer, who played Iceman in the original film, will be returning for the highly anticipated sequel. 

He’ll join Tom Cruise, who is dusting off the role that made him famous in 1986, for a sequel that sees Maverick training a group of young, fresh top gun pilots, including his old flight buddy Goose’s son. However, after dropping teaser trailers for the movie, Kilmer is nowhere in sight. 

Despite keeping the actor's role a secret, Bruckheimer told Yahoo Entertainment in no uncertain terms, "No spoilers, but he’s in the movie."

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Unfortunately, it seems fans may have to wait quite a bit longer to figure out in what capacity Kilmer comes back to the story as the film, which was originally scheduled for a June 24 release date has been pushed back to Dec. 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic shutting things down on many major film and TV productions.  

While many films like "Trolls World Tour" have solved this problem by opting for a straight to video-on-demand release, the acclaimed producer explained that he’s holding out hope that "Top Gun: Maverick" will give audiences the theater experience he originally intended. 

"It's not up to me, but I want it on the big screen, and I'm sure Tom does, too. We'll hopefully get there. Apparently, theaters are open in Texas and people are going, so that's a good sign," he said.

He went on to note that the movie’s star, Cruise, went above and beyond in terms of training for the role and having input on how some of the impressive ariel shots were filmed. 

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"Technology has advanced, so a lot of things we couldn't do before that we can do now, especially with the aerial footage," he said. "And Tom is an aviator, so he can fly anything we have in the movie, from helicopters to jets to prop planes."

Val Kilmer appeared in the first 'Top Gun' movie. (Paramount)

Cruise began his love of aviation after starring in the first "Top Gun" movie, where he did a lot of research and training for the role. For the sequel, he underwent similar training but insisted that his younger co-stars do the same. Bruckheimer noted that not only did Cruise undergo the training himself, but he kept right in pace with the younger cast members. 

"He put the actors through this grueling process over three months so they could take the G-forces when we put them in the F/A-18s," Bruckheimer told the outlet. "It was really a tough slog for these young actors, because they also had to go through water survival training, where they are blindfolded and put in a water tank that’s turned upside down and they have to figure out how to get out. And Tom went through all the same stuff! They told me he went through that training just like a 22-year-old would — that's how good he is."

Actor Val Kilmer will return in the movie 'Tom Gun: Maverick.' (EuropaNewswire/Gado/Getty Images)

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Kilmer's inclusion in the movie is welcome news to his fans after he revealed in a recent New York Times profile that his voice has been affected greatly by his recent battle with throat cancer.