Summary

  • Jennifer Connelly plays Penny, a new character in Top Gun: Maverick, as Maverick's love interest.
  • Connelly's character, Penny Benjamin, is romantically linked to Maverick, establishing a connection to the original film.
  • Adding Connelly to the cast brought a mature dynamic to Maverick's character, elevating the romantic subplot in the sequel.

The Jennifer Connelly Top Gun: Maverick character is the love interest of Tom Cruise’s Maverick. Jennifer Connelly has had a long and successful career, including Hulk, Requiem for a Dream, and A Beautiful Mind. Her career in films dates back to 1984, two years before the release of the original Top Gun. In Top Gun: Maverick, Connelly plays Penny, a bartender who captures the romantic interest of Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Connelly joins a star-studded cast that includes, in addition to Cruise himself, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, and more.

The Jennifer Connelly Top Gun character, Penny Benjamin, is a new character in the franchise. Like most cast members, Connelly has no prior ties to Top Gun. The only other returning actor in the film aside from Cruise was Val Kilmer. Connelly herself is completely new to the Top Gun franchise, but her character does have a tangible connection to the original film. Penny was established as being romantically involved with Maverick before the movie, mentioned in conversations with Goose, which has led to some confusion over whether Jennifer Connelly was in the original Top Gun.

Top Gun: Maverick is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+. The original Top Gun is available to stream on Paramount+.

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Jennifer Connelly Plays A New Character For Top Gun: Maverick

Penny Benjamin Didn't Appear In The Original Top Gun

The Jennifer Connelly Top Gun: Maverick inclusion can be attributed to the absence of Kelly McGillis’ Charlie Blackwood.

It was explained in Top Gun that Penny Benjamin is an admiral’s daughter. When bringing up Maverick’s troublesome history, Stinger referenced their fling as the reason he received a disciplinary in the past. However, while Maverick’s relationship with Penny — which was obviously frowned upon by his superiors — may imply that viewers should already be familiar with her, that’s actually not the case at all. Though Maverick is certainly familiar with Penny ahead of Top Gun: Maverick’s story, she had no real role to play in the first movie, and there was no Jennifer Connelly Top Gun appearance.

The Jennifer Connelly Top Gun: Maverick inclusion can be attributed to the absence of Kelly McGillis’ Charlie Blackwood. Charlie’s romance with Maverick was, of course, a major part of the original movie but has since become a thing of the past. Since McGillis didn't play Charlie again, Top Gun: Maverick has moved on by bringing one of Top Gun’s unseen characters into the picture as Maverick’s love interest.

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Why Do People Think Jennifer Connelly Was In The Original Top Gun?

Viewers Thinking Jennifer Connelly Was In The Original Top Gun Is Down To Her Being An 80s Icon

Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connelly in Top Gun

Connelly was only 16 when Top Gun came out, meaning she was much too young to appear in the movie.

It must be a case of misremembering, as many believe that Jennifer Connelly was in Top Gun. However, the movie came out when her career was in its infant stages. It's been over 30 years since the original Top Gun came out, and Jennifer Connelly was working on the cult classic David Bowie film Labyrinth at the time. The confusion surrounding her involvement in Top Gun could be due to numerous factors.

The primary factor is the passing of time. Since Top Gun came out so long ago and Connelly was active during this time, it's possible that people thought she was making a return of sorts for Top Gun: Maverick. Another thing would be her overall aesthetic. Jennifer Connelly was partly responsible for creating a very specific 80s look for actresses during that time. She had a certain girl-next-door appeal that Top Gun audiences would've fallen for — especially those of a similar age.

Connelly was only 16 when Top Gun came out, meaning she was much too young to appear in the movie. However, it's truly a testament to the Top Gun: Maverick casting, as she feels exactly like an actress who would've appeared in Top Gun. The near-Mandela Effect some fans seem to be experiencing about Connelly being a returnee rather than a new cast member, however, is mainly in corners of the Top Gun fandom who saw the original 1986 movie when it released in theaters, back when they were around the same age as Jennifer Connelly herself when she appeared in Labyrinth.

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How Jennifer Connelly Crafted Her Top Gun 2 Character

The Top Gun: Maverick Actress Ensured Penny Became Integral To The Franchise

Jennifer Connelly in Top Gun 2 Maverick

Despite Jennifer Connelly's Top Gun role only existing in the sequel, the actor used that brief mention of Penny in the original to help craft her character. Connelly claimed that knowing Maverick and Penny shared a past led her to explore what kept drawing these two together. Penny proves Top Gun: Maverick worked without Charlie and the original romance as she and Maverick felt like an ideal match. However, when speaking to Screen Rant, Connelly also insisted:

"it was really important that you feel Penny is someone who is in charge of her own life, who sets her own boundaries, who lives life on her own terms, who has agency."

Given the reaction to the character, it's fair to say Connelly succeeded.

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Adding Jennifer Connelly Was One Of Top Gun's Best Moves

Penny Was One Of The Top Gun Sequel's Best New Characters

Top gun maverick New Love Interest Was Teased In The First Movie penny benjamin

One of the things that worked so well about the Jennifer Connelly Top Gun: Maverick role was that it changed Maverick's character from a lothario who needed to find a good woman to settle down (Charlie) into someone who could have genuine feelings toward someone in a more pure way. The fact that Maverick and Penny had been seeing each other on and off for years helped Maverick grow up emotionally. The romantic subplot being so important in both movies added emotional depth and maturity to his character.

Adding Jennifer Connelly to Top Gun: Maverick gave the movie dramatic weight, and their relationship was much more important than just seeing who replaced Charlie in Maverick's life. While Penny is Charlie's replacement as the hero's love interest, it is a much more mature look at love. This isn't about Maverick scoring with a hot woman. It is about Maverick finding someone who can help complete him, to steal a line from another Tom Cruise movie. Jennifer Connelly helps Top Gun: Maverick fly in more ways than one.

Top Gun: Maverick
PG-13

Top Gun: Maverick is the sequel to the 1986 original film starring Tom Cruise as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a top-tier pilot in the Navy. Thirty years after the original film's events, Maverick is asked to head up a section of the TOP GUN program to embark on a dangerous mission. Things become personal when the program includes the son of Maverick's late friend, forcing him to confront his past.

Director
Joseph Kosinski
Release Date
May 27, 2022
Writers
Ashley Miller , Justin Marks , Peter Craig , Zack Stentz
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
Runtime
130 minutes
prequel(s)
Top Gun