Tom Cruise is also returning for the sequel to 1986's Top Gun, the film that launched the actor as a global star. In the original film, Iceman (real name: Tom Kazansky) was a rival to Maverick, uttering such classic lines as, "I don't like you because you're dangerous," before the pair eventually became friends after earning each other's grudging respect.

Cruise recently tweeted a photo announcing that production had begun on the Top Gun: Maverick. Oblivion director Joseph Kosinski will helm the sequel, which follows fighter pilots dealing with a world in which drone technology is making their old style of flying obsolete.

Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the Tony Scott-directed original, is producing Maverick with Cruise as well as Skydance's David Ellison. German composer Harold Faltermeyer, who created Top Gun's memorable synth score, is also returning to the production. The project has long been rumored, and Kilmer teased in 2015 that he had been offerred a role in the film shared his excitement, writing on Facebook that it's "not often you get to say 'yes' without reading the script."

Paramount is releasing Top Gun: Maverick on July 12, 2019.

Kilmer is known for Top Gun, as well as Batman Forever, Heat, Tombstone and other hits. Upcoming projects include the Iranian-American comedy 1st Born. The actor is repped by CAA, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman.

The Wrap first reported the news.