The sequel - which was nominated for six Academy Awards - sees Maverick, now decades into his career, wooing a bar owner (and daughter of an admiral) named Penny Benjamin. Here's what to know about Maverick's love interest.
Penny's Ex-Husband Being Someone Maverick (& Audiences) Know Makes Sense. In the original Top Gun, Jennifer Connelly's character is said to be the daughter of an admiral, meaning that she has always had a strong connection to the TOPGUN program.
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 ...
How Do Penny and Maverick Know Each Other? Penny Benjamin used to be Maverick's girlfriend, long before Maverick fell in love with Top Gun instructor Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (portrayed by Kelly McGillis in the original Top Gun movie).
While it is possible Iceman makes this request because of Goose's son instead, it seems far more likely that Iceman made this decision due to Hangman being his own flesh and blood. Hangman being Iceman's son perfectly explains nearly every element of Top Gun: Maverick's plot and surrounding secrecy.
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. Lyliana Wray has guest-starred on Black-ish, The Night Shift, and Strange Angel.
Maverick and Penny may have had a romantic relationship several times over the years but he is not Amelia's father. Her real father is out of the picture and Penny raises her daughter as a single mother.
Penny is Maverick's on-again, off-again love in Top Gun: Maverick. While in the first film he was romantically involved with Charlie, a civilian liaison at the Top Gun Fighter School, he's since moved on decades later. Now, he's linked to Penny, a divorced single mom who owns a bar near the Top Gun school.
It is revealed that Maverick has consistently broken Penny's heart when he ends up leaving her as part of his cyclical behaviour, with Penny's teenage daughter Amelia Benjamin (Lyliana Wray) warning him not to do it again.
Charlie, played by Kelly McGillis in the original film, is notably absent in the sequel without any explanation. There are two possible explanations for McGillis' absence: the director's desire to introduce new characters and the industry's ageism towards older actresses.
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.
While she never appears in person in the first "Top Gun," Penny becomes a major character in the sequel. Now played by Connelly, Penny owns a bar that is the downtime destination of choice for the TOPGUN crew.
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.
Who was the Admiral's daughter Maverick slept with?
Meg Ryan's Carole also mentions the incident later in the film, teasing Maverick about the time he went "ballistic" with Penny Benjamin, the admiral's daughter.
Though Penny (Jennifer Connelly) wasn't in Top Gun, her role in Top Gun: Maverick is significant, as she plays Maverick's on-and-off-again love interest, who joins him after the film is said and done.
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, a new theory posits that Penny's ex-husband might be a character from the original movie as well.
Before the final mission, Goose's son, Rooster is still furious at Maverick and angrily makes the point that it doesn't matter if Maverick comes back from the mission or not. After all, he's got no wife and kids to mourn him. Maverick takes these words to heart and promptly proposes to Penny.
In 2015, she released a five-song EP called Willing, and in 2017 she released an album titled "For My Folks", which features a collection of standards. Kelly appears as Sarah Kazansky - wife of Val Kilmer's character Tom "Iceman" Kazansky - in the 2022 action drama movie Top Gun: Maverick.
Maverick clearly knows Hondo from his previous job, functioning as his assistant instructor. Maverick and Hondo don't share a lot of scenes together, but it's clear that they have a great friendship. The fact that Hondo pretty much backs Maverick in all his ridiculous decisions proves his loyalty to him.
Maverick and Lisa have two children, Starr and Sekani. The book was written in Starr's perspective. Maverick has a few issues with his brother-in-law, Carlos, who is a police officer.
Charlie was focused and career-driven, so it isn't outside the realm of possibility that she ultimately chose her professional life and moved up the ranks at the expense of her romantic relationship with Maverick. This is ultimately why the Kelly McGillis Top Gun: Maverick absence happened.
For civilians, this means no hats. Second, there's no touching the model airplanes, or as the prop in the film puts it, "He who touches any aircraft here shall buy the house a round of cheer." Finally, "whoever places their phone on the bar shall buy a round of cheer."
