{"id":15280,"date":"2022-05-12T16:47:01","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T14:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1644234"},"modified":"2022-05-12T17:09:15","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T15:09:15","slug":"top-gun-maverick-director-explains-why-female-characters-didnt-return","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/top-gun-maverick-director-explains-why-female-characters-didnt-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Gun: Maverick director explains why female characters didn\u2019t return"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Lewis Knight\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 12 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The director of Top Gun: Maverick<\/a> has revealed why the original film\u2019s leading ladies are not in the sequel.<\/p>\n

While the likes of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer<\/a> reprise their roles as Pete \u201cMaverick\u201d Mitchell and \u00a0Tom \u201cIceman\u201d Kazansky, respectively, the major female characters of the 1986 film do not return.<\/p>\n

Actress Kelly McGillis does not reprise her role as Mitchell\u2019s love interest Charlie Blackwood, nor does Meg Ryan return as Carole Bradshaw, the wife of Maverick\u2019s best friend \u201cGoose\u201d and the mother of his son Bradley, who is played as an adult by Miles Teller in Top Gun: Maverick.<\/p>\n

Now, speaking to Insider<\/a>, Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski has revealed that returns for McGillis and Ryan were never considered.<\/p>

\u201cThose weren\u2019t stories that we were throwing around,\u201d revealed Kosinski, adding: \u201cI didn\u2019t want every storyline to always be looking backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted: \u201cIt was important to introduce some new characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight<\/a> in 2019, McGillis confirmed she had not been asked to return for Top Gun: Maverick and said: \u201cI\u2019m old and I\u2019m fat and I look age-appropriate for what my age is. And that is not what that whole scene is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meg Ryan as Carole in the 1986 film Top Gun<\/span><\/figcaption> Photo by CBS via Getty Images)<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Despite the absence of the female characters from the first film, Tom Cruise\u2019s Maverick has a new love interest in the form of single mother and bar owner Penny, played by Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Monica Barbaro is also introduced as a member of the film\u2019s team of pilots, Lieutenant Natasha \u201cPhoenix\u201d Trace.<\/p>\n

As Top Gun: Maverick arrives in cinemas later this month, RadioTimes.com<\/a> has already reviewed the film and gave it a glowing review<\/a>, saying that \u201cit improves upon the earlier film in just about every way\u201d.<\/p>\n