Top Gun: Maverick is the movie to watch this weekend, especially if you were a fan of its predecessor, the 1986 classic Top Gun. Not only did it score the highest Thursday gross ever for Paramount with $150M projected for the overall opening, but it's also received glowing reviews. Set decades after the original, the new film sees Peter "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) as a mentor to a new set of naval aviators even as he searches for stability in his personal life.

Though the central story of Top Gun: Maverick naturally focuses on Maverick and his relationships, whether it be connection to Goose's son Rooster (Miles Teller, The Offer) or his on-and-off-again dalliance with Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly, Snowpiercer), the movie also derives a great deal of enjoyment from detailing the hurdles and successes of the new mission candidates.

Screen Rant spoke to cast members Greg Tarzan Davis (Coyote), Danny Ramirez (Fanboy) & Glen Powell (Hangman) about how they earned their callsigns, the aerodynamics of playing football in wet jeans, and whether or not they think there's room for a threequel.

Danny Ramirez as Fanboy in Top Gun: Maverick

Screen Rant: Everybody, tell me your callsign and how you think your character earned this callsign.

Greg Tarzan Davis: My callsign is Coyote, and I think he earned his callsign because he was always the runt of the pack. Coyotes are seen as, like, the lesser dog kind of animals. He's scrappy, though, so he fought for it. And he's one of the greatest pilots in Top Gun.

Danny Ramirez: I think Fanboy... There's different versions of this that I talked to Joe [about]. But maybe he had made an album of a boy band and his locker room? They found it, and then they call him Fanboy.

Which one do you think it is?

Glen Powell: I think it's O-Town.

Greg Tarzan Davis: I think it's Backstreet Boys or something.

Danny Ramirez: *NSYNC? BTS? BTS is a massive one. BTS, everyone! Go watch Top Gun: Maverick.

Glen Powell: I actually got my callsign [when] I went down to Miramar and actually met a real pilot named Noose. I asked him how he got that name, and it was an embarrassing story from a school dance in sixth grade. I took that and made hangman.

Tell me about playing sports in wet jeans.

Danny Ramirez: Hyper efficient. It's aerodynamic. Also, if you fall? You're not gonna get scratched. And it's hot.

Glen Powell: Yeah, there's nothing comfortable about playing sports in jeans. I'm really glad I got to skip out on the Jorts bit. I just had regular shorts. This ain't my first rodeo; I know how to do this.

Danny Ramirez: I had rolled up jeans.

Greg Tarzan Davis: I had mine cut to my calf muscle.

Top Gun is kind of synonymous with its soundtrack. What is your go-to on the jukebox? What are you putting on?

Greg Tarzan Davis: "Take My Breath Away." I love hitting high notes.

Can you do it now?

Greg Tarzan Davis: Yeah. [sings] "Take my breath awaaaaaay...."

Glen Powell: I gotta say, it is uncanny. It is unbelievable. I literally was like, "Am I...? Should I...? [Pretends to take his shirt off.] I couldn't breathe.

Danny Ramirez: Bad Bunny, "Yo Perreo Sola."

Glen Powell: I was jogging past the carrier this morning, listening to "Holdin' Out For A Hero." It's a vibe; I recommend it. We'll go tomorrow morning, and I'll just carry the boombox.

Do you guys think we need a sequel?

All: This is the sequel.

Another sequel!

Greg Tarzan Davis: This one that hasn't even come out yet! People are so anxious. I love it, though. I would sign up. Let's get a great story together, and let's sign up.

Glen Powell: I think the only way to do it is if we can raise the bar, like we did on this one. The first one is incredible. I personally believe this is even better.

It's one of my favorite movies of all time; it's one of the reasons I became an actor, and I think we surpassed it. If we can do that again, I think it'd be worth doing.

Danny Ramirez: I think it's one of the top ten films ever made.

Greg Tarzan Davis: Honestly, I don't know. Tom, his intention and what he said was, "I want to make sure nobody else can do any other flight sequences in an aircraft." I don't even know... They wouldn't have to come out with a special type of jet in order to make Top Gun 3.

Danny Ramirez: But even the human body has its limits, and there's only a certain amount more Gs that you could take before it becomes drones flying some of the missions that we'd have to do. The F-35 is going to be able to be...

Greg Tarzan Davis: I mean, Top Gun In Space sounds nice.

Glen Powell: Let's not go Fast and Furious, guys. Come on, let's just keep it Top Gun.

More Top Gun: Maverick Interviews

Close up of Tom Cruise in character as Maverick in Top Gun 2 wearing a pilot's helmet with face shield down and oxygen mask

After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

Next: Top Gun Maverick Ending Explained

Top Gun: Maverick is currently out in theaters.