“Top Gun” star Tom Skerritt opened up about his experience on Top Gun as well as whether or not fans can expect his character to return in the upcoming sequel.

Skerritt, who appeared in films like “Alien,” M*A*S*H“ and “Steel Magnolias,” sat down for an interview with Australia’s “The Morning Show” where he discussed his experience working with Tom Cruise and whether he had any idea at the time that the film would be the enduring hit it remains today, Fox News reports.

“’I knew it would be very successful. I had had previous experiences with films, going back to ‘M*A*S*H,’ and particularly, I had some idea what Tony Scott would be doing as a director,” he explained. “And bringing in Tom [Cruise] was a perfect choice, so I had every reason to think this was going to be a classic.”

Cruise recently surprised fans at San Diego Comic-Con by revealing the first trailer for “Top Gun: Maverick,” which will catch up with his character several years after the events of the first film. As for whether or not Skerritt’s tough-but-fair flight instructor Mike “Viper” Metcalf will be making an appearance, the actor remained tight-lipped.

“’I can’t tell you anything about it, but there’s a trailer out that is going to bring in a lot of ticket sales,” the actor told the hosts. “It’s almost a virtual reality experience to watch the trailer. They’re not talking much about it. As Tom Cruise likes to say, ‘If I have to tell you, I’ll kill you!’”

In the new trailer, it’s revealed that Cruise’s iconic character, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, will serve as the new flight instructor of the Top Gun school, and is seen wearing his famous Ray-Ban sunglasses, as he faces off against a new enemy — drones.

As we have already explained a new group of U.S. Naval Aviators will join him and Val Kilmer (who returns as Iceman)  in Top Gun Sequel.

The movie, in fact, will also feature Manny Jacinto (who will be playing a pilot named Fritz in Top Gun sequel) Ed Harris, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell and Monica Barbaro. Many of the details surrounding Top Gun: Maverick have yet to be disclosed, but some of the other casting specifics give us a small indication of the direction of the film. Teller in fact has been cast as Goose’s son and will be Maverick’s new protégé – however, the characters have been rumored to have a rocky relationship as well.

The movie was assigned a theatrical release date of Jul. 12, 2019 last year, but on September Paramount announced that had delayed the sequel nearly an entire year, assigning it a new release date of Jun. 26, 2020.

This first appeared in Aviation Geek Club here.