With the addition of seven new actors, the Top Gun sequel – Top Gun: Maverick – appears to have finally finished up casting. The sequel to the 1986 cult classic was originally supposed to release in July 2019, but that date has since been pushed back almost an entire year to June 2020, but that hasn't prevented the production team from moving forward.

Back in May, Tom Cruise confirmed the sequel to his classic film on Instagram and, since then, fans have been hit with an incessant flurry of exciting casting announcements. Cruise and Val Kilmer will return as Maverick and Ice Man, respectively, but, this time around, the pair are flight instructors for a younger generation of pilots. Miles Teller ended up snagging the role of Goose's son, presumably an attendee of the Navy flight school. Beyond that, the cast includes Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Lewis Pullman (Bill Pullman's son), Manny Jacinto, and Glen Powell; however, their exact roles remain under wraps at the moment.

Related: Kenny Loggins Wants To Reinvent Danger Zone Song For Top Gun 2

As if the cast didn't contain enough star power already, Deadline reports that Top Gun: Maverick has cast seven actors to fill out supporting roles. Kara Wang (Good Trouble), Jack Schumacher (Empire), Greg Tarzan Davis (Chicago P.D.), Jake Picking (Blockers), Raymond Lee (Mozart in the Jungle), Jean Louisa Kelly (Ant-Man), and Lyliana Wray (Strange Angel) round out the already heavy-hitting cast.

The original director, Tony Scott, has passed away in the years since the first movie's release, and Top Gun: Maverick director, Joseph Kosinski, has made it his mission not to remake Scott's film but to reinvent, and adapt to modern  times. A lot has changed since the release of the original movie 32 years ago, especially the country's view of the military amidst increased international tensions. Kosinski intends to take the changing times into consideration and thus make the film more suitable to a generation of viewers with a much different perspective on the armed forces.

Though the Top Gun sequel has been delayed, fans still wait in anticipation for the return of Maverick and Ice Man. With the original film boasting $356 million at the box office as well as the high echelon of cult classic fame, there are plenty of expectations for this sequel. Perhaps the delayed release date will ensure that the film lives up to the standards set by its predecessor.

More: Top Gun 2 Fills Out Its Supporting Cast

Source: Deadline

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