Top Gun’s Goose actor shares his thoughts on seeing the Maverick sequel for the first time

Goose and Maverick in Top Gun — (Image credit: Paramount)

Top Gun actor Anthony Edwards, who played hotshot Goose in the 1986 original alongside Tom Cruise, has revealed his reaction to seeing Top Gun: Maverick over 35 years later.

"Tom called me up and screened it for me in-person," Edwards told ET. "People had a certain feeling of the original one, and [Maverick] does exactly what it felt like seeing the first one, only more. As I said to Tom: ‘Mission accomplished.’ That’s a lot of work that went into that."

Edwards, whose character died in the original Top Gun, continued, "It had the feel, it had the tone. It had what people wanted."

It sure did. Top Gun: Maverick is now, domestically at least, Tom Cruise’s biggest movie of all time. The legacy sequel has soared past $300m in taking in the States and over $600m worldwide.

In Top Gun: Maverick, Goose’s legacy is carried on by his son Rooster, played by Miles Teller. He recently broke down how he came to embody the similarities and differences in his character in an interview with Total Film.

"Well, for me, I think when I would think about Goose, it was more of like, a certain feeling, you know, Goose's he's a vibe," he said. "In the original, you know, he and Tom are peers, Goose is his wingman and in this one Rooster flies alone, he’s a single-seater. So I think that speaks to him a little bit."

That even extended to his overall look. Teller revealed, "I grew the mustache, and we did the hair. It was really good casting I think because I do look like I could be Anthony and Meg [Ryan’s] son in the film."

For more on the movie, here’s a look at when Top Gun: Maverick could be on streaming.