While Iceman’s Top Gun: Maverick death was tragic, the moment may have secretly set up the best possible plot for Top Gun 3. Top Gun 3 will have a hard time one-upping its franchise predecessor. After a 34-year production process and an additional two years of release date delays, the hype surrounding Top Gun: Maverick was absurdly high. It seemed as if no movie could live up to the expectations that the sequel had built up over time, which made the critical and commercial impact of Top Gun: Maverick’s arrival all the more shocking.
Top Gun: Maverick was a massive hit with both viewers and critics. The long-delayed sequel defied even the most optimistic expectations, with the critical consensus agreeing that Top Gun: Maverick was even better than the original 1986 cult classic Top Gun. While Top Gun: Maverick’s original sequel story was a darker plot that would have addressed drone warfare, the finished movie was a lighter, more character-focused tale of Maverick training Goose’s son Rooster. That said, Top Gun: Maverick still had its tragic moments, such as the death of Val Kilmer’s Iceman.
Iceman’s Death Confirms The Navy Still Needs Maverick In Top Gun 3
In his last meeting with Maverick, Iceman tells Maverick that the Navy and “the kid” (Rooster) need him. This line could set up Top Gun 3’s story if the sequel revisits Top Gun director Tony Scott’s original premise for Top Gun: Maverick. This story would have seen Maverick work with drone operators, helping them to develop new remote weaponry that could fly as well as a human test pilot. This would prove that Iceman was right about the Navy literally needing Maverick. It would also make up for the rebellious character being viewed as a relic of a bygone era early in Top Gun: Maverick.
Not only could Top Gun 3 prove that Iceman was right about Maverick all along, but it could also deepen Maverick’s bond with Rooster. After saving Goose’s son during the climactic mission in Top Gun: Maverick, it is fair to say that Maverick earned the kid’s forgiveness. However, when Iceman said that the kid needed Maverick, he wasn’t just talking about Tom Cruise’s antihero saving Teller’s character from death after a crash landing. Rooster needs Maverick’s guidance as he continues his career in the Navy. Rooster working with Maverick and the drone operators could give the pair another chance to improve their rapport and could allow Cruise’s character to anoint his successor.
Top Gun 3 Will Prove Rooster Needs Maverick
Miles Teller’s TOPGUN graduate is now a decorated hero, but he will still need guidance from his mentor Maverick throughout the story of Top Gun 3. After all, Rooster doesn’t have Goose to look up to thanks to Top Gun’s tragic accident. While Glen Powell’s Hangman proved that he had Rooster’s back in the ending of Top Gun: Maverick, he is still very much a lone wolf who looks out for himself above all else. Not only that but Top Gun: Maverick also set up Penny and Maverick, so Cruise’s character now has a reason to retire. This could leave Rooster with an opportunity to take over in his absence, giving Maverick’s story a fitting ending and Rooster a perfect future.
Iceman’s Death Will Motivate Maverick In Top Gun 3 (Just Like Goose)
If it turns out that Top Gun 3 is about Rooster essentially replacing Maverick, he could train drone operators with Maverick’s guidance. This would allow Rooster to pass on Maverick’s expertise to the next generation of Navy pilots, which could have been what Iceman was cryptically referring to when he told Maverick that the kid needed him. While Top Gun: Maverick was able to get away with a plot that centered around a manned mission into an enemy base, the franchise will stretch credulity beyond breaking point if Top Gun 3 fails to mention the existence of drone warfare. As Scott noted over a decade ago, drones have effectively replaced pilots in countless instances.
Top Gun: Maverick even features a few throwaway lines that admit the Navy relies on human pilots less and less, and Top Gun 3 will need to acknowledge this further if the franchise wants to avoid becoming outright silly. Already, Top Gun got some understandable flack for inventing pilot trophies and rankings when no such prizes exist in the military, and for using empty aircraft hangars as classrooms when the real TOPGUN uses conventional classrooms. For the franchise to avoid detaching from reality entirely, Top Gun 3 should take Iceman’s Top Gun: Maverick advice seriously and let Rooster and Maverick train the next generation.