Top Gun: Maverick spoilers follow.
Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski has revealed that it was Val Kilmer's idea to make Iceman "ill" in the movie.
Having previously undergone a procedure on his trachea as a result of throat cancer, Kilmer lost his ability to speak, but he came up with a way to return as Iceman for the long-awaited sequel.
According to Kosinski, Kilmer suggested that his real-life condition should be written into the script in order for his comeback to be "authentic".
Related: Top Gun: Maverick's powerful treatment of Iceman
"Val was the one who really came up with the idea of Iceman being ill, he felt like that was the most authentic way – and, I thought, a very brave way – into the film," Kosinski told Empire magazine.
In emotional scenes, Iceman and Maverick are reunited at Iceman's house where he is suffering from an unspecified illness. In the scene, Iceman communicates with Maverick largely via computer with a brief line of dialogue as the pair say a final goodbye.
It was these scenes that Kosinski was unsure about, as he worried there would be a lack of emotional connection. However, the director said he thinks the decision paid off and made the final words between the two even more powerful.
Related: Val Kilmer was "so moved" by Top Gun: Maverick cameo scene
"I was really nervous about typing on a keyboard. I was worried that you wouldn't have that emotional connection, but by starting on the keyboard it gives Iceman's words at the end of the scene that much more power."
Writing in his memoir, Kilmer revealed how he was unsure if he would be returning as Iceman so he approached the producers himself.
"Tom was Maverick, but Maverick's nemesis was Iceman. The two went together like salt and pepper," wrote Kilmer. "It didn't matter that the producers didn't contact me. As The Temptations sang in the heyday of Motown soul, 'Ain't too proud to beg'."
Top Gun: Maverick is available to watch on Sky Cinema, NOW and Virgin TV.
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
