So much about the original Top Gun is iconic. Tom Cruise soaring in the skies in his fighter jet and revving on tarmac on his motorbike. The inexplicable beach volleyball. The near-constant magic-hour sunsets. Every single song on the soundtrack. And another standout is the moustache belonging to Anthony Edwards’ Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw (RIP), Maverick’s beloved wingman with a pure heart and a fuzzy upper lip. In the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, not only is Cruise back as Maverick – but his new generation of recruits includes Whiplash star Miles Teller as Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw, none other than Goose’s son (note: Gosling?).
If Rooster is his own man, there’s an immediate link to his fallen father with one look at his face: the moustache has been passed down a generation. “That was something I knew for sure had to be in there,” Teller says to Empire in the new issue, on sale Thursday 15 April. “And there are some nods to Goose in the movie which I think people will be very appreciative of.”
Not only did Teller grow his own facial fuzz – but he picked out his own callsign too, after spending some time thinking what Goose’s son might name himself. “I thought it sounded like it was in the same family,” he says. “I thought it was cool, and I got the seal of approval from Tom.”
Read Empire’s full Top Gun: Maverick feature – introducing the sequel’s new generation of fighter pilots – in the upcoming Tom Hiddleston issue, on sale Thursday 15 April and available to pre-order online here. Top Gun: Maverick is expected to arrive in UK cinemas on 19 November.