Tom Cruise "Really Rallied Hard" For Val Kilmer To Appear In Top Gun: Maverick's "Special" Scene

Tom Cruise says he “really rallied hard” for Val Kilmer to appear in Top Gun: Maverick.

The 59-year-old star of the original movie — who brought to life Lt Pete “Maverick” Mitchell — really wanted Kilmer, 62, who played his screen rival  Tom “Iceman” Kazansky to come back for the sequel, which is due to hit theatres on May 26. The Joseph Kosinski-helmed movie will be screened out-of-competition at next week's Cannes Film Fest (May 17-28). 

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Cruise said: "I really rallied hard for him to make the movie.”

He continued, "The kind of talent that he has, and you see that scene [of him and Kilmer], it's very special, it's just very special." 

Last year, Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer echoed the sentiment, saying that Cruise “really wanted” Kilmer to join the sequel. 

He told People: "[Tom Cruise] said, 'We have to have Val, we have to have him back. We have to have him in the film. 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."

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

He also labelled their reunion on-set as “very emotional”. "It was a long time getting there, but we did," he said. 

Top Gun: Maverick opens in Singapore cinemas on May 25. — BANG SHOWBIZ