Tom Cruise gave his late Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer a proper send off during a surprise appearance at CinemaCon 2025 on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Taking to the stage, Cruise, 62, asked for a moment of silence for Kilmer who died Tuesday at the age of 65 after a lengthy battle with throat cancer and various health challenges that followed, reported Deadline.
“I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honored I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick, said Cruise, adding that Kilmer “gave a lot to all of us” in the name of his love for movies.
“Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him,” said Cruise, added, that he wishes him well on his “next journey.”
Cruise popped into the event to preview a clip of his upcoming movie Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning and Final Reckoning, the eighth film in the franchise. Yet Cruise’s words for Kilmer had social media commentators emotionally recalling how it felt to see them together one last time in Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise reportedly insisted that Kilmer return as “Iceman” Tom Kazansky, and the moment was emotional for both actors, said Cruise in a 2022 interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“For him to come back and play that character… he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again,” said Cruise. “You’re looking at Iceman.”
