Michael Ironside Reveals the Real Reason He’s Not in ‘Top Gun’ Sequel

Michael Ironside won’t be reprising his Top Gun role of Jester in its 2020 sequel because of a spat with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, he told THR.

“I’m not going to be in this film,” Ironside said.

“The one person still in charge is Jerry Bruckheimer and Mr. Bruckheimer and I don’t really get along, or didn’t get along. He offered me a project 10 or 12 years ago and I think that may have been the miscommunication, and I said no to it. I didn’t like the writing and stuff. And he asked me if I’d do it, and I said, ‘I don’t feel comfortable, is there something else I can do?’”

He added, “The next time I saw him at a hockey game… I went up and said, ‘Hey Jerry,’ and he just sort of turned around and I figured, ‘Well that relationship is over with.’”

Ironside explained he holds no ill will towards Bruckheimer and remains a fan of leading man Tom Cruise.

“[Bruckheimer] has a business he has to run, he has to make decisions based on his way of doing things and what makes him feel safe,” Ironside said. “The interesting thing, though, is I’m a fan of Tom Cruise. I have nothing bad to say about him.”

In the sequel to the 1986 Cruise and Val Kilmer classic, the stars return as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, respectively, who now live in a world dominated by drone technology and fifth-generation pilots. The film will turn an eye towards exploring the end of the dogfighting era.

“I’m looking forward to this new film because it’s going to deal with… now in the military, you don’t even have to be physically present to kill somebody,” Ironside said.

“By drones and stuff like this, you don’t even have to take emotional or spiritual responsibility for the taking of another life. It’s like going to work on a keyboard at home at night, and you might have killed a 140 people that day. And I hope that’s the way the script is going.”

Joining Cruise and Kilmer are Miles Teller (Fant4stic), Glen Powell (Hidden Figures), Jennifer Connelly (Hulk), Lewis Pullman (Bad Times at the El Royale), Jon Hamm (Baby Driver), and Ed Harris (Westworld). Filming launched this month in San Diego.

TRON: Legacy‘s Joseph Kosinski, who previously steered Cruise in 2013 sci-fi Oblivion, directs from a script penned by Peter Craig (The Town), Justin Marks (The Jungle Book) and Eric Warren Singer (Only the Brave). Bruckheimer produces with Cruise and Skydance’s David Ellison (Jack Reacher, Mission: Impossible — Fallout).

Top Gun: Maverick takes flight June 26, 2020.