Summary
- Goose's death in Top Gun was not Maverick's fault, but rather Iceman's selfish desire to win caused the accident.
- Iceman's individualistic actions of not moving out of the way when asked ultimately led to Goose's tragic demise.
- The introduction of Goose's son, Rooster, brings up the question of whether Maverick is to blame for his father's death, adding tension to their relationship throughout the film.
Decades after the movie's release, there is still a lot of controversy around how Goose died in Top Gun and who is at fault for the heartbreaking moment. The 1986 Tony Scott film was fun and exciting in its first two acts, but its vibe changed drastically after a tragic accident during a training session claimed Goose's life. Maverick and Goose's friendship went beyond their professional careers. Top Gun established this when Goose's family came to the academy to visit him. Even when Goose died, his wife, Carole (Meg Ryan) didn't blame Maverick for what happened.
Despite the encouragement from Carole, Maverick was wrecked by the guilt and wondered if it was his fault. While he was cleared by the board of inquiry, Maverick continued to blame himself — so much so that he even considered walking away from the Navy. It's understandable that Maverick would feel this way considering that he was piloting the plane when Goose died and, the guilt follows him into Top Gun: Maverick with Goose's son. Regardless of how Maverick feels, the accident wasn't his fault — it was Iceman's.
Top Gun 3: Confirmation, Cast & Everything We Know About The Maverick Sequel
Tom Cruise flew high in 2022 in Top Gun: Maverick. With its success, Top Gun 3 feels inevitable, and here's everything we know about the next Top Gun.Why Goose’s Death In Top Gun Was Iceman’s Fault
Iceman's Selfish Desire To Win Caused The Accident
As the top two trainees from their TOPGUN batch, Maverick and Iceman, with their respective RIOs, went into the tandem training session in Top Gun, motivated to come out as the winner. The exercise put them on the same team against their superiors, but points were earned individually. Both eventually got in the position to shoot LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly (Michael Ironside), giving them a shot at securing victory for the trainees. While Iceman got in front of Maverick and Goose, he couldn't get a clean shot. He was repeatedly asked to move out of the way, so Maverick could take over.
However, he stubbornly stayed, trying to take down Jester and prevent his direct competitor from scoring points over him. No matter how hard he tried, Iceman couldn't get a lock on Jester's plane, forcing him to ultimately break off. Unfortunately, by the time Iceman got out of the way, it was too late; Maverick was too close to his tail, causing him to fly directly through the jet wash.
This resulted in his aircraft suffering a flameout of both engines, ending in a fatal flat spin. While Maverick was able to safely eject, Goose didn't; he hit the canopy on his way out with the intense impact causing his death. Had Iceman given Maverick the opening when first asked, the accident wouldn't have happened. Iceman's actions highlighted how individualistic he was — something Maverick got in trouble for in their previous exercise when he abandoned his wingman, to chase CDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf (Tom Skerritt) on his own.
Iceman should've been reprimanded. At the very least, he should've been investigated like Maverick. Not only was he able to get away with it scot-free, but Iceman also emerged as the top pilot from their TOPGUN class. At the end of Top Gun, Maverick came to terms with Goose's death enough to mentally move on.
Why Iceman Doesn't Speak In Top Gun: Maverick
Val Kilmer returns as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick, and while he speaks very little in the movie, there are both real-world and story reasons for it.Top Gun 2 Brings Back Goose’s Legacy In Miles Teller’s Bradley a.k.a Rooster
The Uneasy Relationship Between Maverick And Rooster Goes Beyond Goose's Death
Top Gun: Maverick revisited the tragedy with the introduction of Goose's son, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller). This character's influential presence doesn't allow Goose's tragic demise to remain in the past. It also brings up whether it is Maverick's fault that Goose died. Rooster once again suggests it was Maverick's reckless nature that caused the death of his father but there is no mention of Iceman's role in the accident.
However, the late airmen's demise does play a key role in the former characters' relationship throughout the film. It's a natural progression within the franchise to use this as a point of contention. Goose's death isn't the only reason Rooster harbors a grudge toward Maverick. It's also revealed that the franchise's star Navy pilot purposely delayed his Naval Academy application in the past, which set Rooster's military career plans back by years. Though Maverick did so for what he believed was a good cause, the move generated its share of obvious problems.
As if there wasn't enough reason for Rooster to have internal, Maverick-directed angst festering within him, he went into Top Gun: Maverick with extra distrust toward Cruise's character. Though Top Gun: Maverick's ending features a satisfying reconciliation between Maverick and Rooster, it was smart to include it because emotionally recovering from Goose's death was Maverick's main challenge.
Top Gun Cast & Character Guide
The Top Gun cast has bona fide movie stars like Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer and '80s icons like Kelly McGillis and Meg Ryan playing its characters.What Top Gun Goose Actor Anthony Edwards Thinks Of Maverick
Edwards Did Not Return For The Sequel
While Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer are the faces of the original Top Gun movie, it wouldn't have the same impact without Anthony Edwards as Goose. While his character doesn't live to the end, this was the movie that helped launch his career. In an interview, he said that everyone loves Goose, and he is a tragic character in the movie. "You're like, 'Why does he have to die?" (via Yahoo! Movies) With that said, Edwards also said he gets it because Maverick had to suffer to come out a better person in the end.
While he was not among the returning cast of Top Gun: Maverick, Edwards gave it his seal of approval (via PEOPLE). "It's the biggest movie that I'm in that I never had to show up for a day of work, so it was fun," he said, referring to his spirit weighing heavily over everyone in the sequel. Edwards also said that the movie did everything that people wanted, which he said was a "mission accomplished" for Tom Cruise and Top Gun.
Top Gun
In this classic action flick, Tom Cruise stars as daring young pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Among the other students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school, he competes to be best in the class, and learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.
- Release Date
- May 16, 1986
- Director
- Tony Scott
- Cast
- Tom Cruise , Kelly McGillis , Val Kilmer , Anthony Edwards , Tom Skerritt
- Runtime
- 110 minutes
- Writers
- Jack Epps Jr. , Jim Cash
- Budget
- $15 million
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures
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Top Gun: Maverick
- Summary:
- Top Gun: Maverick is the long anticipated sequel to the original Top Gun, setting Tom Cruise back into the pilot suit of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Having served for thirty years as one of the top aviators in the Navy, Maverick continues his calling as a test pilot and dodges the attempted efforts of the higher-ups to promote him to a less active role. Soon he finds himself training a group of TOP GUN graduates for a unique mission - one of those recruits is a young man named Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller), who happens to be the son of his late friend Nick Bradshaw, aka Goose. Now Maverick and his new trainees will face off with ghosts from his own past as they embark on the most dangerous mission they've ever flown.
- Release Date:
- 2022-05-27
- Cast:
- Jennifer Connelly, Jake Picking, Raymond Lee, Tom Cruise, Lewis Pullman, Monica Barbaro, Miles Teller, Danny Ramirez, Val Kilmer, Manny Jacinto, Ed Harris, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm
- Cinematographer:
- Claudio Miranda
- Director:
- Joseph Kosinski
- Distributor :
- Paramount Pictures
- Genres:
- Action
- Producer:
- Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, Don Granger, Dana Goldberg, Tom Cruise
- Production Company:
- Skydance Media, Tencent Pictures, TC Productions, Jerry Bruckheimer Films
- Writers:
- Ashley Miller, Justin Marks, Peter Craig, Zack Stentz
- Main Genre:
- Action
- Rating:
- PG-13
- Runtime:
- 130 minutes
- Website:
- https://www.topgunmovie.com/home/
- Franchise:
- Top Gun
- Main Characters :
- Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Penelope "Penny" Benjamin, Beau "Cyclone" Simpson, Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Robert "Bob" Floyd, Chester "Hammer" Cain
- Sfx Supervisor:
- Scott R. Fisher
- Assistant Director :
- Scott Robertson
- prequel(s):
- Top Gun
- Franchise(s):
- Top Gun
