Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer's 'emotional' reunion

Filming Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ reunion was “an emotional day on set”.

The pair previously worked together on the 1986 original and bringing their characters – Tom’s Maverick and Val’s Iceman – back together for the sequel, was a huge moment for director Joseph Kosinski.

Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘Behind the Screen’ podcast, Kosinski said: “To see how much respect they had for each other as actors, and to see a friendship that has evolved over 36 years – it really mirrored what you see on screen in the scene. They are just two actors at the top of their game doing this really beautiful scene for the film that’s so important. It was a very emotional day on set.”

Val has previously opened up about the damage to his voice after a tracheostomy in 2014 during his throat cancer battle and Kosinski revealed how they overcame those issues.

He said: “Val and Tom performed the scene, and then we enhanced Val’s voice by blending it with another one, mostly for clarity, more than anything else.”

And, after previously working with Cruise on 2013’s ‘Oblivion’, Kosinski jumped at the chance to collaborate with him again.

He said: “He’s not just an actor in your film. Obviously he’s a producer on this, but it’s really a partnership. He’s involved with every aspect of the filmmaking and that collaboration is what he really feeds off of and enjoys. … He’s just got this energy that is infectious.”