New 'Top Gun: Maverick' trailer leaves Twitter asking 'Where is Iceman?'

Ethan Alter
·Senior Writer, Yahoo Entertainment
Updated
1

Get ready to change lanes, Dom Toretto: the original speed demon, “Maverick” Mitchell, is racing back into theaters to teach a whole new generation about the need for speed. The second trailer for Top Gun: Maverick soared onto screens on Monday, providing more glimpses at the film’s white-knuckle flying sequences, the majority of which feature Tom Cruise himself in the cockpit, in between smatterings of story.

One thing it’s still keeping a mystery, though, is where and how Maverick’s old flyboy frenemy, “Iceman,” is going to return. Val Kilmer tweeted about the new trailer prior to its release, but the actor — who recently survived a battle with throat cancer — remains offscreen for the second time. (Watch the trailer above.)

Kilmer’s absence is the first thing that many on Twitter are noting about the new trailer.

Rest assured cadets: Kilmer will be in Top Gun: Maverick. Cruise confirmed his co-star’s return last summer, describing their reunion as being “very special for me.” Perhaps Iceman’s role in the sequel is simply too special to give away this early; based on the online reaction, though, Paramount might want to include proof of life in the next trailer to prevent a...well, icy reception.

The main thrust of the Maverick trailer is establishing that the Navy’s former top gun has been brought back to train a new generation of recruits, including “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller) — son of Maverick’s gone but not forgotten best friend, Goose (Anthony Edwards). Other cadets in this new class include Monica Barbaro and Manny Jacinto. The Good Place star teased his appearance in a recent visit to BUILD Series. “It’s like you know a movie star is in the room,” Jacinto said of working with Cruise. “That man has the power to just silence a room with just his presence. You just want to do the best work whenever he’s around.”


In the trailer, though, the cadets seem a bit more skeptical of Maverick than the actors were of Cruise on set, largely because the pilot seems to have become a has-been in the three decades since the original film. As the first trailer revealed, Maverick hasn’t advanced very far up the Navy command structure, seemingly preferring to remain a test pilot until mandatory retirement. “Two birds with one? You gotta be kidding,” one of the cadets says skeptically during a dogfighting exercise. It goes without saying that guy changes his tune after seeing his new teacher in action. Just wait until they get a load of his wingman.

Top Gun: Maverick opens in theaters on June 26, 2020.

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