Val Kilmer is in line to star in ‘Maverick’.
The 58-year-old actor looks set to reprise his role as Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in the hotly-anticipated ‘Top Gun’ sequel after playing the character in Tony Scott’s original 1986 iconic movie.
A source told The Wrap that Kilmer is to take on the role of Iceman – the main rival to Tom Cruise’s Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell alter-ego – again, and he has been spotted around the San Diego hotel Paramount have been using since production began.
But Paramount have declined to comment about the potential casting of the ‘Willow’ star.
Last week, Cruise confirmed production has begun on the motion picture, which is slated for a July 2019 release.
He treated his Twitter followers to a behind-the-scenes look into the new film, posting a shot of himself on the set.
The image – which features the words "feel the need" – sees Tom focusing on an aircraft in the distance.
The post is simply captioned: "#Day1 (sic)"
Joseph Kosinski – who is directing the project – has previously teased fans about what they can expect from the follow-up.
Hinting that that film will focus on Maverick’s time in the modern armed forces, he recently said: "The Navy is very different now than it was in 1986. Back then, they hadn’t been in any war for 15 or 20 years at that point.
"Now, here in 2017, the Navy’s been at war for 20 years. It’s just a different world now, so you can’t remake the first movie. It has to adapt."
Eric Warren Singer, Peter Craig and Justin Marks have penned the script.
The romantic action-drama film – which focused on students at the United States Navy’s elite fighter weapons school – initially received a mixed reaction from critics, yet it turned out to be a huge commercial success, earning more than $350 million at the box office.
Anthony Edwards starred as Maverick’s sidekick Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw.