Although Top Gun: Maverick’s best scene came from Iceman’s return, this does leave Top Gun 3 with an almost insurmountable task. While it took a long time for the sequel to finally arrive in cinemas, critics and viewers agreed unanimously that Top Gun: Maverick was worth the wait. Top Gun: Maverick was both a superb character study of Tom Cruise’s conflicted, aging test pilot Maverick and a thrilling, high-octane adventure. However, while the high-flying stunts and rousing finale were great, it was in its quietest moments that Top Gun: Maverick really soared.
One major reason that Top Gun: Maverick outperformed Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One by so much was because the movie had nostalgia on its side, and the sequel never leaned into this more than when Val Kilmer’s Iceman was reunited with Maverick. The two characters spent almost the entirety of the original Top Gun battling each other as rivals, but this made their eventual friendship all the more compelling in the movie’s finale. As such, the sweet reunion between Iceman and Maverick was Top Gun: Maverick’s best scene despite all the impressive special effects and staggering spectacle that abounded elsewhere in its story.
Iceman’s Top Gun: Maverick Death Limits Top Gun 3’s Emotional Impact
The problem with Top Gun: Maverick’s perfect Iceman and Maverick reunion is that it had to end with Iceman’s tragic death to carry a meaningful emotional impact. Iceman’s final line in Top Gun: Maverick is central to the sequel’s thesis, and it’s given extra weight by his passing a few scenes later. However, this unintentionally created a problem for Top Gun 3. There aren’t any other equally important characters from the original Top Gun who can return in the second sequel and play a role similar to Iceman’s all-important Top Gun: Maverick appearance. Most of the characters who could return, like Maverick’s former love interest Charlie, wouldn’t have much impact.
Viper’s comeback would come close, but he was a mentor rather than a rival-turned-friend. Not only that, but the fact that Tom Skerritt’s character was also a lot older than both Maverick and Iceman would make his death less of a shock. As if these two problems weren’t enough, there is also the issue of Maverick having another heart-to-heart with another estranged colleague before they die. This wouldn’t be a surprise in the second sequel. If Top Gun: Maverick was an original movie, the filmmakers might have gotten away with sneaking a similar scene into Top Gun 3. As is, though, it would likely feel like copying.
Top Gun: Maverick’s Iceman Death Was Perfect Despite Its Franchise Impact
Iceman’s Top Gun: Maverick role needed to be as poignant as it was, even if this does mean Top Gun 3 will struggle to replicate its impact. Top Gun 3 could avoid recreating the scene altogether since, now that Maverick is in a better place, he may not need as much emotional support and spiritual guidance as he did in the first sequel. Top Gun 3 could even see Maverick play the wise mentor role for Goose’s son, Rooster, than Iceman played for him in Top Gun: Maverick. With this surprise twist, Top Gun 3 could truly prove that Top Gun: Maverick’s sequel story changed the franchise’s hero.