While the Top Gun franchise is largely thought of as synonymous with actor Tom Cruise, producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Young Rock, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) has revealed in an interview that the star feels the same way about Val Kilmer. Speaking with People, Bruckheimer has shared a bit about why it was so important to get Kilmer back.

　　"[Cruise] said, 'We have to have Val, we have to have him back. We have to have him in the film,'" Bruckheimer says. "And he was the driving force. We all wanted him, but Tom was really adamant that if he's going to make another Top Gun, Val had to be in it."

　　Indeed, Kilmer will be reprising his breakout role as Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, a fellow instructor and friend/former rival of Cruise's character, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. This wasn't simply a matter of casting Kilmer--as documented in his recent documentary, Val, the actor was sidelined for several years since at least 2015, battling throat cancer. As also recently reported by People, Kilmer has been able to get his voice back thanks to AI technology.

　　"He's such a fine actor, and he's such a good individual," said Bruckheimer. "We had such a good time on the first one and wanted to bring some of the gang back together again."

　　Top Gun: Maverick, after several delays, will hit theaters on November 17, 2021.

　　David Wolinsky on Google+