There’s a plum role in the anticipated sequelTop Gun 2that needs casting, and three in-demand actors are reportedly at the top of the list.Tom CruiseandVal Kilmerare reprising their roles as Maverick and Iceman, respectively, in the follow-up, but the dearly departed Goose (played byAnthony Edwards) will have a presence in the form of his adult son. PerTHR,Glen Powell(Set It Up),Nicholas Hoult(X-Men: Apocalypse), andMiles Teller(Thank You For Your Service) are the three frontrunners to land the role at this point in time.
THR says testing has been ongoing with Cruise and producersJerry BruckheimerandDavid Ellisonleading the charge, and whileDylan O’Brien(The Maze Runner) andAustin Butler(The Shannara Chronicles) were in the mix at an earlier stage, the list has been narrowed down to Powell, Hoult, and Teller.
One might imagine Teller has a bit of a leg-up here as he recently starred in directorJoseph Kosinski’sOnly the Brave, and Kosinski is at the helm ofTop Gun: Maverick, reuniting with Cruise after they made the sci-fi dramaObliviontogether. But my pick here is far and away Powell, who broke out in a big way inRichard Linklater’sEverybody Wants Some!!andHidden Figures, and who recently made a splash with the critically acclaimed Netflix romcomSet It Up. Powell has a charisma that’s undeniable, but he’s also got a kindness about him that would seem to evoke Edwards’ vibe that made Goose so memorable.
Of course Hoult wouldn’t be a bad choice either, and he most recently wrapped the lead role in theJ.R.R. TolkeinbiopicTolkeinand reprises his role as Beast inX-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Meg Ryanplayed Goose’s partner inTop Gun, and it’ll be interesting to see if she reprises her role for this sequel. Pre-shoots on the film recently went underway as Cruise sharedthe first image of himself back in costume, but it’s clear that principal photography has yet to begin with this key role needing to be cast. We’ll surely find out who lands it soon enough.Top Gun 2opens in theaters on July 10, 2025.
