Top Gun: Maverick director reveals why he cut Kelly McGillis and Meg Ryan from the sequel

While the new Top Gun: Maverick movie is bringing back some of the most beloved movie characters of the '80s, two familiar faces are missing ...

After reviving the film's central characters Maverick, Iceman, and Goose (via his son Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw played by Miles Teller), Maverick's instructor and love interest Charlie Blackwood, who was played by Kelly McGillis, hasn't returned.

"Those weren't stories that we were throwing around" said director Joseph Kosinski.

"I didn't want every storyline to always be looking backwards. It was important to introduce some new characters."

Meg Ryan's character, the wife of Goose, is another core cast member to be given the chop.

After its initial release, Top Gun went on to become the highest-grossing movie of 1986, and is widely considered as one of the most iconic films of the decade due to its high-octane action sequences and glossy style.

Top Gun: Maverick will hit cinemas at the end of the month 36 years after the original was released.