Tom Cruise opens up about his ‘very special’ reunion with Val Kilmer in Top Gun: Maverick

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Tom Cruise has opened up about his reunion with Val Kilmer in Top Gun: Maverick, years after their respective characters’ conflict turned into friendship in the original film.

The new action movie sees Cruise as the Navy’s top pilot, who must confront the ghosts of his past. It is a direct sequel to the original 1986 movie, for which Kilmer was cast as Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky.

During an interview with Metro on Thursday 19 May, when Cruise was asked about his reunion with Kilmer, he said: “It was lovely. The whole experience, you know, 36 years to make this film.

“There were so many moments in making it that were very special, incredibly unique.

“[Kilmer] is an actor that I greatly admire, so it was wonderful.”

Earlier this month, Cruise spoke about Kilmer with Entertainment Tonight as well, sharing how “very special” it was to work with him again in the sequel.

Cruise revealed that he “rallied hard” to get Val into the first action movie.

“The first one, I really rallied hard for him to make the movie,” Cruise said of Kilmer.

He also discussed a powerful scene in the new film, commenting: “The kind of talent that [Val] has, and you see that scene [in the new film], it’s very special, it’s just very special.”

While the extent of Kilmer’s role is being kept under wraps, some fans believe his character could appear as a high-ranking military official in the film.

Recently, Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer also said Cruise insisted that Kilmer be a part of Top Gun: Maverick.

“We all wanted him (Kilmer), but Tom was really adamant that if he’s going to make another Top Gun, Val had to be in it,” Bruckheimer told People magazine.

Kilmer reprised the role of Iceman – the foe-turned-wingman of Cruise’s character Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchel – years after he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and lost his voice after undergoing treatment.

Top Gun: Maverick is set to release in the US on 19 November.