Val Kilmer’s Iceman Is Returning For The ‘Top Gun’ Sequel

He was the cool, buff, blonde-haired rival to Maverick in Top Gun and really helped launch Val Kilmer's Hollywood career. Lt. Tom 'Iceman' Kazanski was a pivotal part of the 1986 classic and it was nice to see him buddy up with Tom Cruise's character at the end.

But with all the talk about a Top Gun sequel, many have been asking whether Val/Iceman will be making a return.

While Paramount has refused to confirm or deny the casting, the 58-year-old actor has been spotted around the hotel being used by the production crew.

Of course, it's been more than 30 years since the original, so there were no expectations that Cruise and Kilmer would come back and pick up where they left off. Instead, it's reported that the pair will play mentors looking after a new batch of shit-hot pilots.

It will also look at the changing nature of the battlefield, with drones overtaking aerial dogfighting.

Val teased that he had signed up to the movie, being dubbed Top Gun: Maverick, on Facebook, saying: "Offered ‪#‎topgun2 - not often you get to say 'yes' without reading the script."

But then he quickly deleted the post and backtracked in a separate status saying: "This is a long way off so calm down. This has been talked about for a long, long time and being offered a role is very different from doing a role. I jumped the gun with my post. I jumped the topgun... An innocent mistake. It was just such a wonderful phone call with my agent."

The follo- up to the wildly successful film has been in the works since 2010, when Paramount Pictures - obviously hunting for that easy cash - approached Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott to sign up for a sequel.

The film will be released on 12 July next year.