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Tom Cruise confirms Jennifer Connelly as female lead in Top Gun 2

The Mission: Impossible star described her as 'perfect' for the role'

Jacob Stolworthy

Tuesday 24 July 2018 15:23 BST

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Top Gun Trailer (1986)

Tom Cruise has revealed who the female lead will be in the long-awaited sequel to Eighties classic Top Gun.

The actor revealed that Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Connelly will appear alongside him when he reprises the role of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell a whole 32 years after the original was released.

Cruise, who was promoting new Mission: Impossible film Fallout, told Entertainment Tonight: “When you see the film, you’ll see why she’s perfect for it. She has such a very talented, very vibrant, and... we’re just going to have a great cast. [It's] gonna be a lot of fun.”

Connelly's previous credits include A Beautiful Mind and Darren Aronofsky film Requiem for a Dream.

Production on Top Gun 2 - subtitled Maverick - is in full swing with Whiplash star Miles Teller also set to appear with Joseph Kosinski - who directed Cruise in 2013 sci-fi Oblivion - on directing duties.

Original star Val Kilmer will also return playing the role of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky.

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

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1/14Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Bill Murray

With only one Oscar nomination to his name (2003's Lost in Translation), Bill Murray is one oversight that - in many people's eyes - could easily throw the Academy Awards into disrepute.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Samuel L. Jackson

Considering he's one of the most bankable film stars in the world, it's a surprise that - with over 160 credits to his name - Samuel L. Jackson has only received a mere one nomination (Pulp Fiction in 1994).

2016 Getty Images

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Joaquin Phoenix

With three previous nominations under his belt - for films including Gladiator and The Master - it was his performance as Johnny Cash in 2005 biopic Walk the Line that was expected to see him win an Oscar (he lost to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman's for Capote).

2015 Getty Images

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Brad Pitt

The ever-present fixture he remains in Hollywood today, you'd think Brad Pitt would have won an Oscar by now; while serving as producer of 2014 Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave, he currently has zero acting wins to his name despite three nominations (Twelve Monkeys, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Moneyball).

2015 Getty Images

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Tom Cruise

Still one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Tom Cruise seemed like a sure awards bet back in the Nineties with films Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia all earning him nominations - and yet, he never once emerged victorious.

2015 Getty Images

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Richard Gere

Would you believe us if we told you Richard Gere has never even been nominated? Well, it's true - and, quite honestly, shocks us quite a bit. Poor guy.

Juan Naharro Gimenez

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Gary Oldman

One of the film industry's finest character actors, Gary Oldman has been nominated just the once for playing George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

2014 Getty Images

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Johnny Depp

Despite his recent dip in quality, Johnny Depp has delivered several Oscar-worthy performances in the past. With a total of three nominations to his name - all for post-2000 releases including Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Neverland - it's more a wonder he didn't receive more recognition for standout films such as Ed Wood and Donnie Brasco in the Nineties.

2015 Getty Images

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford may now be the world's highest-grossing actor (sorry, Samuel) but still doesn't have the Academy Award to back up such a feat. In fact, he's now into his third decade of not receiving recognition from the Academy with his sole nomination arriving back in 1985 for Witness.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Edward Norton

Edward Norton is just the kind of actor you'd assume would've scooped a statuette at some stage or another, but no - Norton just has three nominations to speak of; his first in 1996 (Primal Fear), his second in 1999 (American History X) and his third just last year (Best Picture winner, Birdman).

AFP/Getty Images

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

John Malkovich

American actor John Malkovich was nominated once in 1984 (Places in the Heart) and again in 1993 (In the Line of Fire) but hasn't posed much of a threat since.

2013 Getty Images

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Annette Bening

Poor Annette Bening, who has come close to victory four times (The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right) but is yet to clinch one.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Glenn Close

...well, it could be worse; she could be Glenn Close who has been on the shortlist six times for films including Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons and, most recently, Albert Nobbs.

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter may have received a Best Actress nomination for Wings of a Dove (1997), but it was her Best Supporting Actress nomination for 2012's Best Picture winner The King's Speech that seemed a sure bet; Melissa Leo's role in The Fighter won that round.

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Sky News reports that Connelly' will play a single mother who runs a bar near the airbase. Kelly McGillis played the female lead in the1986 original which is now considered a cult classic.

Top Gun: Maverick will be released in cinemas ion 2019.

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