WASHINGTON — In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that actor Tom Cruise will make a return in the follow up to the 1986 megahit “Top Gun.” “Yeah, of course. … You don’t make ‘Top Gun’ without Tom Cruise,” Bruckheimer told ET on Thursday. The producer had hinted at “Maverick’s” return in a tweet back in January.

Just got back from a weekend in New Orleans to see my old friend @TomCruise and discuss a little Top Gun 2. pic.twitter.com/vA2xK7S7JS

— JERRY BRUCKHEIMER (@BRUCKHEIMERJB) January 26, 2016

“There is an amazing role for Maverick in the movie and there is no ‘Top Gun’ without Maverick, and it is going to be Maverick playing Maverick,” producer David Ellison said in an interview last summer. Ellison told The Guardian the sequel will feature the clash of old school aviation versus the world of drones. There is no word yet on if Val Kilmer, aka “Iceman,” will also be on board. Watch the full ET segment below: