Top Gun: Maverick has sent the the box office into a flurry this weekend, already raking in the highest Thursday gross in Paramount's history. Taking place decades after the 1986 classic Top Gun, the sequel follows an older an wiser Peter "Maverick" Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise) as he grapples with his past and leads young naval aviator recruits into the future.

Though Top Gun: Maverick contains plenty of homages to its predecessor - one of its most powerful moments is a reminder of the friendship between Maverick and Iceman (Val Kilmer) - the film also introduces several new characters. Some important additions include Rooster (Miles Teller, The Offer), the son of Maverick's deceased best friend Goose, and Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson (Jon Hamm, Mad Men), Maverick's boss who is responsible for some of his professional growth in the film.

Related: Every Song In Top Gun Maverick

Screen Rant spoke to Hamm about what drew him to Top Gun: Maverick in the first place, how he thinks Cyclone got is callsign, and which scene from the original film he wishes he could've been a part of.

Jon Hamm as Cyclone in Top Gun: Maverick with solemn expression

Screen Rant: Jon, what does it feel like knowing how much people friggin' love this movie?

Jon Hamm: It's been a ride, for sure. It's very exciting to be a part of something that is so anticipated and also so beloved. To be proud of it and to know that all of the enthusiasm we had making it is right there on the screen and is being received as is a really nice experience.

How did you get on board?

Jon Hamm: I had heard about the project; I knew that it was going to be made. Nobody really knew much about the story; what it was going to be.

There had been whisperings about this over the course of decades. People were talking about, "Are they gonna make a sequel to Top Gun? Why aren't they making a sequel to Top Gun?" And the reason was they didn't have the story; they didn't know what the story was going to be. When they finally landed on it, and Tom realized, "Okay, this is the story I want to tell," they had the benefit of having this huge long break.

Maverick is a different human being at 50 than he is at 25. You make different decisions; things mean differently. Words like duty and responsibility and family and grief and loss and friendship - and all of these mean different things to you when you're in your 50s than they do when you're in your 20s. That's a big theme of the movie, and I think that's why it's resonating so emotionally with people.

My God, I was misty-eyed the whole time, and screaming and cheering too. Talk about worth the wait. Tell me what your callsign is and what you think the meaning behind it is? How did he earn that?

Jon Hamm: It's a good question. My character's callsign is cyclone. I was very excited to get not only a callsign, but one that I thought was very cool. I was very pleased, and I will say that when I ran it by all of my high school friends - we all saw the original movie together when we were in our teens - they were like, "That is a very cool name."

I have a feeling it had something to do with his style of flying. I would say that he was probably a wild sort of renegade flier back in the day, and he has since calmed down. But he maintains the style of of the cyclone, for sure.

How does that conversation go with your high school friends? "Guys, guess what? I'm in Top Gun!"

Jon Hamm: It was pretty cool. There was a lot of emojis, I'll say that, in response. A lot of excitement. Also, Cyclone is very cool because I do have an emoji. So, that's awesome.

Did you get to go up at all?

Jon Hamm: No, I did not get to go on the plane. The amount of training that the younger pilots had to do was - we're talking months. It was significant. And obviously, they're a little judicious about handing out $80 million dollar airplanes to test drive.

I was relieved that I did not have to go through that, and I'm certain it would have ended in vomit.

If you could insert yourself into any of the scenes from the original, which one would it be and why?

Jon Hamm: One of my favorite parts of that first movie is when they were singing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" in the bar. Obviously, we kind of harken back to that in a couple of the scenes in our film too.

It just sets the tone and establishes Maverick and Goose as friends and buddies; confidantes and all of that stuff. It's so resonant in setting the stage for that whole film. That's one of my favorite scenes in movies, not just the original.

You don't want to play volleyball in jeans?

Jon Hamm: No, thanks. Sand and denim is not a good combination.

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.