Alexa, play “Take My Breath Away.” While the nostalgia is overwhelming for Top Gun fans in the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, not everything is the same for the title character 30 years after the original film. Show In the second film, Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell returns to train younger Top Gun graduates — including his late best friend Goose’s son, Rooster (Miles Teller) — for a special mission. Played by Anthony Edwards in 1986, Goose and wife Carole Bradshaw (Meg Ryan) appear in flashbacks in the 2022 movie. Ryan wasn’t the only actor who wasn’t asked back for Top Gun: Maverick, however. Kelly McGillis— Maverick’s love interest, Charlie, in Top Gun — isn’t part of the second movie. Instead, the pilot reconnects with Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly), who is referenced — but not seen — as the admiral’s daughter with a past with Maverick in the original film. “[Goose] told me all about the time you went ballistic with Penny Benjamin,” Carole said to Goose, Maverick and Charlie in the 1986 movie. While McGillis implied to Entertainment Tonight in 2019 (when production on Top Gun: Maverick was underway) that aging is why she wasn’t asked back, director Joseph Kosinski told Insider that McGillis and Ryan aren’t part of the sequel because of how their characters would impact the new stories. “Those weren’t stories that we were throwing around. I didn’t want every story line to always be looking backwards. It was important to introduce some new characters,” Kosinski said in May 2022. “Penny Benjamin, a character we have heard mentioned but never seen before, that was an amazing opportunity to bring Jennifer Connelly’s character into this film.” Connelly, for her part, gushed about the “exceptional” Cruise in an interview with Variety ahead of Top Gun: Maverick’s May 27, 2022 release. “Spending time with him, you understand how someone has been such a movie star for so many years. It was clear to me what the franchise means to him, so I felt beholden to him, [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer and the audiences who love the film so much,” Connelly said. “We focused on the intimacy of how they fit into each other’s lives. I think those characters have a really tender relationship, the way she understands him. They share a moment in bed chatting, and it tells as much about their relationship as the scene that is the preamble to that. Clearly, they have some unresolved business between them, and she navigates that with humor and playfulness. I feel like she’s someone who is positive and is moving toward happiness.” Scroll through for more from McGillis on how she feels about being excluded from Top Gun: Maverick: In order to view the gallery, please allow Manage Cookies Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer returned to the Navy for Top Gun: Maverick, but one familiar face missing from the sequel is Kelly McGillis, who played Cruise’s love interest in the 1986 original. According to McGillis, she wasn’t asked to join the film, and she matter-of-factly cited her appearance for her exclusion. Entertainment Tonight asked McGillis way back in 2019 if the makers of Top Gun: Maverick had asked her to be in the film. “Oh my god no. They did not, nor do I think they would ever,” she replied, almost laughing at the idea. “I mean, I’m old and I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about.” Fortunately, McGillis didn’t seem to be upset by her very realistic explanation. “I’d much rather feel absolutely secure in my skin and who and what I am at my age, as opposed to placing a value on all that other stuff,” she said. The 64-year-old actress told ET that she left Hollywood to get sober and focus on raising her family, and isn’t necessarily itching to see the sequel anyway. “I guess it depends on what kind of reviews it gets,” she said. “I’m not racing to the theater, and I’m not racing away from the theater to see it.” McGillis played astrophysicist and training school instructor Charlie Blackwood in the original Top Gun. In this iteration, Jennifer Connelly portrays Maverick’s new love interest, Penny Benjamin. The long-awaited sequel was directed by Joseph Kosinski and also stars Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, and Glen Powell. Editor’s Note: Grab your very own “Age-Appropriate” T-shirt in Mach 1 or Mach 2 variations, now available on the Consequence Shop or via the Buy-Now buttons below. Age VerificationAre you 18 years of age or older ?
Why was Charlie Not in Top Gun: Maverick?Although the reason for Charlie's absence in the 2022 sequel isn't addressed within the film, the actress who played Charlie has revealed that she wasn't asked to reprise the iconic role in Top Gun: Maverick. The 64-year-old actress previously told Entertainment Tonight that it was because of her age and appearance.
Does Kelly McGillis play in the new Top Gun?Why Kelly McGillis Isn't in Top Gun: Maverick: “I'm Old and I'm Fat, and I Look Age-Appropriate” Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer returned to the Navy for Top Gun: Maverick, but one familiar face missing from the sequel is Kelly McGillis, who played Cruise's love interest in the 1986 original.
Why is Meg Ryan not in Top Gun 2?Before she died - which, it seems, happened several years before the events of "Top Gun: Maverick" - she made Maverick promise to do everything he could to stop Rooster from following in his father's footsteps. That's the plot justification for not having Ryan return for the sequel.
Who turned down the Maverick role in Top Gun?Seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he turned down an offer to have a role in the Top Gun: Maverick movie. Hamilton, who is currently in his 16th season of competing in F1, is known to have various interests outside the world of racing.
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Why isnt Kelly McGillis in the new Top Gun?
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