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It’s been quite a day for movie trailers, from the Cats trailer traumatizing the entire world, to Tom Cruise making a surprise visit to San Diego Comic-Con to reveal the official trailer for Top Gun: Maverick. And if there’s one question about the latter, it’s: how does Tom Cruise look like he’s basically the same age from the original movie? If there are two questions, the second one might be: wait a moment, did Goose die in Top Gun?
We’ll forgive you for forgetting one of the most traumatic scenes in movie history because, after all, the original Top Gun came out in 1986. If you have forgotten everything, from Kenny Loggins’s “Danger Zone” to shirtless volleyball scenes, that’s okay: Top Gun may not be currently streaming free on Netflix of Hulu, but there are plenty of places to rent the classic film for $2.99 or so.
But in case you want answers now, and don’t want to spend money, that’s fine. I guess. In that event, here’s how Goose died in Top Gun. Nick “Goose” Edwards” (Anthony Edwards) is the best friend of Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and his copilot during the Topgun competition they’re entering. While trying to win a leg of the competition, their jet gets accidentally sabotaged by Iceman (Val Kilmer), and Goose hits his head on a piece of the airplane while trying to eject. And dies.
Maverick blames himself, and no amount of silhouetted tongue-kissing with his girlfriend Charlie (Kelly McGillis) will help. Eventually, it all works itself out by the end of the movie, except for Goose, who is still dead.
So why the confusion over Goose’s status in Top Gun: Maverick? That’s because there’s a new Goose in town, in the form of… Wait for it… Goose’s son, played by Too Old to Die Young star Miles Teller! Missed opportunity to get Ryan Gosling, I tell you (Goose? Gosling? Ah, never mind). Anyway, in case you further forgot, while Maverick is super-single and ready to mingle in the original Top Gun, Goose has a kid, and a wife, played by Meg Ryan.
The new movie — as is clear from the trailer — is revisiting a lot of what made the original great. Sing-alongs, more shirtless volleyball… It’s all there. And that includes Goose Jr., who may have a bone to pick with the man who was partially responsible for his Dad’s death.
Top Gun: Maverick doesn’t hit theaters until 2020, which gives you plenty of time to stream the original Top Gun, and try to figure out how much Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan’s kid would really look like Miles Teller.
