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Penny is first referenced when Maverick and LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw are getting chewed out by CDR Tom "Stinger" Jardian (after the LT Bill "Cougar" Cortell incident), who indicates that Maverick has been previously disciplined (twice by Stinger himself) for "a history of high-speed passes over five air control ...
Despite Jennifer Connolly's Top Gun role only existing in the sequel, the actor used that brief mention of Penny in the original to help craft her character. Connolly claimed that knowing Maverick and Penny shared a past led her to explore what kept drawing these two together.
In the early part of Top Gun when a commanding officer is chewing out Maverick and Goose, he scolds Maverick for his history of high-speed passes — not just of air control towers but of "one admiral's daughter." This causes Goose to lean over to Maverick and whisper the name "Penny Benjamin" into his ear.
Instead, Jennifer Connelly replaced McGillis as a new love interest: Penny Benjamin, who, as it turns out, is really the only other viable option for the part. The character has appeared in Maverick's life before the smash-hit sequel begins.
Is Penny Benjamin in the Original "Top Gun"? Penny, played by Jennifer Connelly, is not physically in the first "Top Gun" movie, but she does exist in it, though only mentioned in passing. She is never actually seen on screen.
This is something Maverick confessed to Penny but not to Rooster. Of course, the spirit of Goose hangs over Maverick and Rooster in Top Gun: Maverick. In moments of uncertainty, they both say, "Talk to me Goose/dad" and evoke the dearly departed, mustachioed pilot.
McGillis first revealed in 2019 that she was not asked to star in the “Top Gun” sequel, saying at the time, “I'm old, and I'm fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is.
Hangman being Iceman's son perfectly explains nearly every element of Top Gun: Maverick's plot and surrounding secrecy.
Top Gun: Maverick didn't bring back Charlie Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), Pete's romantic partner in Top Gun, and instead introduced the character of Penny. Though surprising, the change was ultimately better for the film.
In the long-awaited sequel to the iconic Top Gun movie, Connelly plays Penny Benjamin, a bartender who captures the romantic interest of Tom Cruise's Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
Finding an actress to pair opposite Tom Cruise is no easy task, but director Joseph Kosinski knew he had the perfect pick when he sought out fellow '80s icon Jennifer Connelly for Top Gun: Maverick.
Amelia Benjamin is Penny's daughter. She loves her mother and has a good rapport with Maverick. With the stranger nature of Penny and Maverick's relationship, Amelia simply wants what's best for her mother.
Before being the central love interest in Top Gun: Maverick, Penny is actually mentioned in the original Top Gun, being one of Maverick's former love interests.
However, Charlie actress Kelly McGillis believes that there's a different explanation for not being called back for Top Gun: Maverick: her age and looks. "I'm old, and I'm fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about," she said in a 2019 interview.
Meg Ryan Was Not Asked to Return
Director Joseph Kosinski told Insider that the return of both Ryan and Kelly McGillis was never even considered during development. Kosinski did not want every storyline in the film "to be looking backwards," and he instead took the time to introduce new characters.
Prior to the special mission, Hangman was assigned/attached to strike fighter squadron VFA-151 Vigilantes. Hangman is friends with LT Javy "Coyote" Machado. Hangman is to Rooster what LT Tom "Iceman" Kazansky was to Maverick in Top Gun.
Maverick is naturally in the crowd and personally pounds Iceman's wings into the top of his casket.
He's living in the shadow of the death of his father, Goose (Anthony Edwards), and holds Maverick personally responsible.
That eye for detail even extends to Jennifer Connelly's character Penny Benjamin, who plays Maverick's love interest. That romance wasn't fabricated out of thin air, though, as Penny was actually mentioned twice in the original film.
Kelly appears as Sarah Kazansky - wife of Val Kilmer's character Tom "Iceman" Kazansky - in the 2022 action drama movie Top Gun: Maverick.
because he put his phone on the counter … which is against the rules … which he should know because they're listed on a tiny sign.
The night before the mission, Maverick visits Penny in his ceremonial white uniform, presumably to say goodbye in case he doesn't make it back.
Penny, played by Jennifer Connelly, is not physically in the first "Top Gun" movie, but she does exist in it, though only mentioned in passing. She is never actually seen on screen.
He finds that Maverick brought the pilots over to the beach to play football as a bonding exercise, which appears to work since they are all having fun. Maverick later goes out with Penny and tells her that he pulled Rooster's application because his mother asked Maverick to look after him before she passed away.