The fact that Hangman’s actor was almost cast as Rooster in Rooster vs. Hangman: Who The Better Top Gun Pilot Really Is
Why Glen Powell Lost Out On Rooster
In 2018, Glen Powell and Miles Teller, along with Nicholas Hoult, were reported to be the top contenders for the part of Goose's son — then referred to as "Riot" Wrigley — in Top Gun: Maverick. The three actors all personally tested opposite Tom Cruise, at the actor's home in Florida, for the role that was later renamed Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw. Ultimately, Teller was decided to be the best fit for the part, and it may have helped that he had previously worked well with Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski on the movie Only the Brave.
Powell handled his loss of the role with grace and good humor. He shared an article announcing Teller’s casting with a playful tweet where he threatened to take down his Tom Cruise posters, only to then concede that the star was still his idol. This charismatic humility paid off when Kosinski and Cruise upgraded Hangman, Rooster’s rival, to give Powell a pivotal role to play in Top Gun: Maverick. While the battle of wills between Rooster and Maverick is central to Top Gun: Maverick, Hangman is also the sequel’s comic relief as well as Rooster’s Iceman equivalent, making Powell’s part a doubly vital role.
How Top Gun: Maverick Builds On Iceman/Maverick’s Feud
While not everyone knows that the Navy rewrote Goose’s death, making it better, one element of the original Top Gun’s production that even casual viewers have heard about is Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise’s on-set rivalry. While the pair of actors have largely avoided talking about the issue, it has been rumored for decades that the two rising stars repeatedly butted heads during the making of the movie. A pair of larger-than-life talents who were infamous for their egos, Kilmer and Cruise have both conceded that they might have been a bit arrogant at the time.
However, in the years since, Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise became close friends, to the extent that the latter threatened to abandon Top Gun: Maverick if the former was not involved. Tom Cruise’s sway over the Top Gun franchise proved to be a good thing when the sequel brought back Iceman for its most moving moment, while Rooster and Hangman’s opposition and eventual friendship proved the pair were worthy successors to the original movie’s rivals. While Top Gun: Maverick needed Kilmer and Cruise to work, future movies in the series can keep their dynamic alive thanks to Glen Powell and Miles Teller’s killer chemistry.
