While Top Gun: Maverick ignored the existence of one pivotal Top Gun character, Top Gun 3 should bring this original hero back to give them their flowers. Top Gun: Maverick was deservedly seen as a worthy follow-up to director Tony Scott’s 1986 cult classic Top Gun by both critics and audiences alike. However, not every star of the original Top Gun was able to appear in Top Gun: Maverick. In some cases, this made sense for the sequel’s plot. It added up that the reckless, restless Maverick would have eventually ended his romance with Charlie in the intervening years between the two movies, and Goose obviously couldn’t appear in the sequel due to his death in Top Gun.
However, the absence of other Top Gun cast members was harder to ignore. Fortunately, Top Gun: Maverick brought back Iceman for a triumphant cameo that proved to be the movie’s most poignant moment. The only reason that Iceman’s appearance was so vital, however, was because another figure from the original Top Gun was nowhere to be seen. In Top Gun, both Iceman and Maverick were taught by the same TOPGUN instructor and this character became something of a taciturn mentor to Maverick. He helped him when Tom Cruise’s antihero was at his lowest, but was never mentioned in Top Gun: Maverick despite this.
Why Top Gun’s Viper Wasn’t In Top Gun: Maverick
Tom Skerritt’s Viper should have been back in Top Gun: Maverick and, since he was not, he now really needs to return in Top Gun 3. It would make sense if Viper passed away between movies since he is a generation older than Maverick and Iceman. He also had a wife and children in Top Gun, so it would also make sense if he retired. However, Top Gun: Maverick never mentioned Viper’s fate at all and Iceman’s retirement didn’t preclude his return. As such, since Skerritt is still alive and working, Top Gun 3’s story needs his character to make an overdue comeback.
While Iceman was Maverick’s openly antagonistic rival in Top Gun (until the movie’s iconic ending), Viper was his mentor. It was Viper who perpetually helped Maverick out of scrapes, and Viper who consoled him after Goose’s death, making him a pivotal character in the original movie. Skerritt’s character played a central role in Top Gun and was the one who convinced Maverick to get back in the cockpit after Goose’s demise. As such, Top Gun 3 needs Viper more than ever after the death of Iceman. This event, along with Maverick just about surviving the sequel's risky mission, could have shaken the character’s confidence again.
Top Gun 3 Needs Viper More Than Ever
Without Iceman, Maverick has no one to keep his ego in check. Since Skerritt is still alive and still acting, Viper would be the perfect character to fulfill this role as he did in Top Gun. While Top Gun: Maverick’s saddest scene made Maverick’s death seem inevitable, he survived to fly another day. As such, Top Gun 3 should show how Maverick acclimated to the modern Navy, where drone warfare replaces pilots at an increasing rate. Viper, a veteran with decades of service under his belt, could help Maverick adjust to old age and potential retirement as Rooster replaces his mentor.
Top Gun 3 Should Bring Back Viper (For Rooster’s Sake)
It was Viper who told Maverick he wasn’t responsible for Goose’s death, so it would make sense for Rooster to hear this straight from Maverick’s original mentor in the sequel. Since Maverick and Rooster spent much of Top Gun: Maverick at each other’s throats, it would be repetitive to see the pair locked in another battle of wills during Top Gun 3. However, if Top Gun 3’s story sees Rooster advancing through the ranks while Maverick moves into a less active service role, this could reignite the feud between the duo.
If this happens, Viper should return to tell Rooster that Goose’s death wasn’t Maverick’s fault. This clarification mattered for Maverick since it allowed him to fly again, but it could be equally important for Rooster. Rooster should know that Maverick’s care for him comes from a place of love and not guilt, but Maverick can't be the one to convince him of this. Viper could, since it was he who helped Maverick cope with the aftermath of Goose’s death at the time. As such, Top Gun 3 needs Tom Skeritt’s underrated character.