Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 classic, introduces a new love interest for Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Jennifer Connelly’s Penny Benjamin, which reveals the sad truth about Maverick’s life between the two films. Briefly mentioned as an Admiral’s daughter in the original movie, Penny Benjamin’s presence shows that the Maverick present in the original film isn’t far off from the Maverick in the sequel. This is also telling that Maverick’s relationship with Kelly McGillis’ Charlie did not last for one reason or another, implying that Maverick’s life hasn’t moved far past TOPGUN.
When audiences last saw Cruise’s iconic character, the hotshot pilot was a Lieutenant who graduated second in his class at TOPGUN, an elite fighter weapons school created by the United States Navy that takes the best combat pilots and pushes them to be even greater. But when audiences meet back up with Maverick in the sequel, three decades after the original, Maverick has only climbed the ranks three times to the rank of Captain. Meanwhile, Val Kilmer’s Iceman, who graduated first place in their class at TOPGUN, just ahead of Maverick himself, has achieved the rank of Vice-Admiral in the three decades since the original Top Gun movie took place.
These many developments between films indicate that Maverick’s career became stagnant once he reached Captain, with Maverick even saying in the film that he feels that he is where he belongs, not allowing himself nor pushing himself to strive any further. And in dating Penny Benjamin, it shows that Maverick has clearly not moved on very far from where he was in the original Top Gun, as he is still pining after an Admiral’s daughter all these years later in the Tom Cruise-led sequel. Maverick’s life being linked so closely linked to TOPGUN, despite not returning to the titular school for three decades, proves that while he may feel that he is where he belongs, he should have achieved so much more by this point in his life, showing the tragedy of his character.
Also present in Top Gun: Maverick is Miles Teller’s Rooster, the son of Maverick’s former co-pilot and best friend Goose, who tragically died in the events of the first film. The film makes it very clear just from the marketing alone that these two have a lot of history with one another, and are in a major conflict through the events of Top Gun: Maverick. This plays into the larger themes of the film, as both men are so caught up in the past that they cannot find a way forward. Maverick’s guilt over Goose’s death in Top Gun is still very much present in the sequel, and Rooster feels resentful towards Maverick, as he feels that Maverick has held him back from being the man he wants to be.
Maverick carries a lot of baggage going into this sequel, and it’s baggage that has held him back in life. By the end of the original Top Gun movie, it seems evident that Maverick is going to go places in his career, maybe even achieving the rank of Vice-Admiral one day. But still dating a woman from his past, as well as being caught up in the guilt of his best friend’s death have created a roadblock that Maverick seems to not want to overcome, as his life is still so closely linked to TOPGUN. The absence of Kelly McGillis’ Charlie shows that Maverick may not be the best with women either, which is all the more evident in his interactions with Penny, as it is made clear in Top Gun: Maverick that this isn’t the first time the two have tried to pursue a relationship. Maverick’s life is a tragic example of the price that someone pays for living in the past, and adds extra layers to Top Gun’s iconic hero.