Maverick’ reunion with Val Kilmer

A bond larger than the sky.

“Top Gun: Maverick” star Tom Cruise revealed he was overcome with emotion when he reunited with Val Kilmer, who reprised his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, during a scene in last year’s box office behemoth.

“I’ve known Val for decades, and for him to come back and play that character — he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again. You’re looking at Iceman,” Cruise, who starred as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell said Friday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“I was crying. I got emotional. He’s such a brilliant actor, and I love his work,” Cruise added.

Kilmer, 63, confirmed he had throat cancer in April 2017 and was battling the illness since 2015.

Though the actor has been cancer free nearly six years, the effects of radiation, chemotherapy treatment, and a tracheotomy surgery severely impacted his speaking ability.

Kilmer had limited dialogue in the film but spoke with the help of artificial intelligence models, according to Variety.

Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced both “Top Guns,” said Cruise was determined to include Kilmer in the film.

“We all wanted him, but Tom was really adamant that if he’s going to make another ‘Top Gun,’ Val had to be in it,” Bruckheimer told People in 2021.

Bruckheimer also called the reunion between Maverick and Iceman “very emotional,” saying, “It was a long time getting there, but we did.”

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In Kilmer’s 2020 memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry,” the actor shared his thoughts on the sequel being made 35 years after the original.

“He was calling it ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ Well, Tom was Maverick, but Maverick’s nemesis was Iceman. The two went together like salt and pepper,” Kilmer wrote. “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” has been nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Adaptive Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound, in next month’s Academy Awards ceremony at Hollywood’s iconic Dolby Theatre.

The film grossed nearly $1.5 billion at the box office worldwide.

In December 2022, prior to the film’s release on Paramount+, Cruise thanked fans of the franchise for making the film a box-office smash while casually freefalling from the sky.