Summary

• Tom Cruise's return as Maverick in Top Gun 2 was a huge draw, but the ensemble cast, including Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly, shines.
• The dynamic between the new characters and Maverick's legacy brings depth to Top Gun: Maverick, elevating it beyond a typical action reboot.
• The engaging performances of the cast , both old and new, add layers to the storyline, with standouts like Glen Powell and Monica Barbaro.

While Tom Cruise's return to the cockpit after 36 years was a big reason for the excitement of Top Gun: Maverick, the entire cast of Top Gun 2 made for an excellent ensemble. Along with Cruise back as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, the Top Gun 2 cast boasts an incredible array of talent. Arguably, one of the movie's greatest strengths stems from the fact that Cruise's legacy provides a perfect counterweight to many unfamiliar yet instantly iconic faces. Since its release, the entire cast of Top Gun 2 has gained acclaim, with Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, and Glen Powell among others receiving praise.

Top Gun: Maverick follows Maverick as he trains a new batch of Top Gun recruits. Having spent the previous three decades deliberately avoiding promotion, Maverick is viewed with skepticism by his trainees. He eventually wins over his students, including Rooster, the son of his old wingman Goose. While the flight sequences are undeniably impressive, much critical praise has focused on the cast, elevating Top Gun: Maverick beyond being a simply run-of-the-mill action reboot. From the new characters who stole the show to the touching return of some favorites from the Top Gun universe, the cast of Top Gun 2 really shines.

Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

Played By Tom Cruise

Actor: As the most recognizable presence in the franchise, Tom Cruise's Maverick is the movie's most essential of the cast of Top Gun 2. Unsurprisingly, Tom Cruise performs Top Gun 2's stunts himself. Away from the world of Top Gun, Tom Cruise is internationally recognized as one of the world's most bankable movie stars. His most famous projects include the Mission: Impossible franchise, A Few Good Men and Minority Report.

Character: Unlike his role in the original, the older Pete "Maverick" Mitchell has been tempered somewhat by his experiences in the Navy, yet retains the same free-spirited air that so endeared him to audiences in 1986. Maverick in Top Gun 2 is a jaded character who's both bitter and fearful of the rise of AI and the role of human pilots in the 21st century.

iral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky

Played By Val Kilmer

Actor: Among the other Top Gun 2 returning cast , this is one of the most emotional due to Val Kilmer's ongoing battle with throat cancer. Reprising his role as Maverick's main rival from the original movie, Val Kilmer's Iceman wasn't always destined to appear in the Top Gun sequel. After an extensive Facebook campaign and the of Cruise, Kilmer was finally confirmed in 2018. Apart from his Top Gun character, Kilmer is best known for his roles in Michael Mann's Heat, as well as Batman Forever and Willow.

Character: Unlike Maverick, Iceman has successfully risen through the ranks since the events of the original Top Gun, becoming a four-star iral in the intervening decades. Iceman and Maverick had remained friends, and Val Kilmer's Tom Kazansky managed to settle down with a wife and kids. Unfortunately, the original Top Gun character was also struggling with an unidentified cancer by the events of Top Gun 2, a narrative detail that was included to honor Val Kilmer's battle with the disease.

Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw

Played By Miles Teller

Actor: Miles teller is poissbly one of the most recognizable names in the Top Gun 2 cast outside of Tom Cruise and returning Top Gun cast such as Val Kilmer. Teller has appeared in several notable Hollywood projects, including films such as The Offer and Whiplash. He also appeared in the YA adaptation Divergent as Peter Hayes.

Character: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw is the son of Maverick's deceased former wingman, original Top Gun character Goose. Bradley appeared briefly in the original, singing "Great Balls of Fire" alongside Maverick and Goose. While Rooster initially resents Maverick, blaming him for being supposedly held back in his career, the two eventually become close, with Rooster even saving Maverick during the movie's climactic raid. Fans might have expected Roosters mother Carole, played by Meg Ryan in the original, to be among the Top Gun 2 returning cast, but she is revealed to have died between the two movies.

Penelope "Penny" Benjamin

Played By Jennifer Connelly

Actor: While many mistakenly believed Jennifer Connelly was a returning Top Gun cast member, Top Gun 2 was her first appearance in the franchise. However, she experienced the height of her career during the 1980s, which is one reason for the possible confusion. Jennifer Connelly's career has spanned nearly four decades, with projects such as Labyrinth, Requiem for a Dream, and A Beautiful Mind.

Character: Kelly McGillis didn't return as Charlie, Maverick's girlfriend in the original Top Gun. Replacing Kelly McGillis' Charlie Blackwood is Jennifer Connelly's Penny Benjamin — a bar owner, the daughter of a former iral, and Maverick's new love interest. As the drama unfolds, Penny provides crucial advice for Maverick as he attempts to navigate his relationships with the cast of Maverick, especially Rooster. Though not technically a character from the original movie, Penny was mentioned in 1986's Top Gun.

Vice iral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson

Played By Jon Hamm

Actor: Jon Hamm is a movie and TV veteran, still perhaps best known for the role of advertising guru Don Draper in the much-vaunted series Mad Men. He has also recently appeared in the third season of The Morning Show and season 5 of Fargo. This Top Gun 2 cast member holds various accolades such as two Golden Globes and a Primetime Emmy, making him one of the most distinguished names on the cast list.

Character: One of Top Gun 2 antagonist characters, Jon Hamm's Vice iral "Cyclone" Simpson is extremely skeptical of Maverick's dangerous and seemingly foolhardy approach – voicing his concerns before the final mission. However, he is eventually won over, appointing him to lead the team. As far as rank, V Cyclone is more-or-less on the top rung of the ladder when it comes to the TOPGUN senior officers.

Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Played By Glen Powell

Actor: Glen Powell was one of the breakthrough of the cast of Top Gun 2, and while appearing as Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick was far from his first role it is arguably his most prominent to date. Since the Top Gun sequel, he has subsequently appeared in Richard Linklater's Hit Man, the rom-com Anyone But You, and the disaster movie sequel Twisters.

Character: Glen Powell's Hangman is another daredevil pilot who regularly rubs up against Miles Teller's Rooster. Known for his arrogance, he too is quick to dismiss Maverick's methods and is initially cast in an unfavorable light. However, by the end of the movie, Hangman is eventually redeemed as he saves Maverick and Rooster during their escape from hostile territory. In many ways, Hangman fulfills a similar role to Val Kilmer's original Iceman.

Lieutenant Robert "Bob" Floyd

Played By Lewis Pullman

Actor: Top Gun 2 cast member Lewis Pullman has been involved in a number of interesting projects, including Bad Times at the El Royale and the TV adaptation of Catch-22, although his role in Top Gun: Maverick is probably his most significant yet. Recently, he starred alongside Brie Larson in the limited series Lessons in Chemistry. He is also due to star in the 2024 remake of Salem's Lot as Ben Mears.

Character: Another key mission candidate, Bob serves as Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) to Natasha "Phoenix" Trace in Top Gun: Maverick. As part of the final mission, he and Phoenix are paired with Maverick. While Top Gun 2 doesn't have any characters who serve as comic relief as such, "Bob" certainly comes close, with several jokes made at the expense of his callsign being a simple shortening of his name.

Rear iral Chester "Hammer" Cain

Played By Ed Harris

Actor: Ed Harris is one of the most experienced actors working in Hollywood, appearing in movies such as The Rock, A History of Violence, and Westworld. Much like Jennifer Connelly, many viewers may have mistakenly believed that Ed Harris was in the original Top Gun, as the 1980s were a definite high-point in his career thanks to movies like The Abyss, Walker, and Under Fire.

Character: Though Ed Harris isn't one of Top Gun 2's returning cast , Rear iral Cain seems to have a history with Maverick. Early in the movie, Cain is determined to ground the controversial captain after his actions result in the destruction of a highly-valued "Darkstar" prototype. However, he is eventually persuaded by Iceman to transfer him to a new assignment.

Lieutenant Natasha "Phoenix" Trace

Played By Monica Barbaro

Actor: Phoenix is played by Monica Barbaro, who was a relative newcomer when she scored the ing role in the cast of Top Gun 2. Since then, she has continued to make a name for herself, starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Fubar, and is set to appear in the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet.

Character: As part of Captain Maverick's team for Top Gun 2's final mission alongside "Bob" Floyd, Phoenix is one of the most important players in Top Gun: Maverick. Like her fellow mission candidates, she is initially disdainful of Maverick's credentials before observing him in action.

Rear iral Solomon "Warlock" Bates

Played By Charles Parnell

Actor: Top Gun: Maverick cast member Charles Parnell has had an active career in the early 2000s, first appearing on the big screen in 2004's Mind the Gap. Since appearing in the cast of Top Gun 2, Charles Parnell has appeared in a number of high-profile projects, from The Mandalorian to Barry to David Fincher's The Killer, and even appeared alongside Tom Cruise again in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.

Character: One of the few authority figures who seem friendly towards Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Rear iral Warlock is a key figure in organizing the mission against the uranium enrichment facility — alongside Jon Hamm's Cyclone. Warlock is actually the commander of Naval Education and Training Command, making him play a key role in Top Gun: Maverick's story.