Top Gun: Maverick, the new Top Gun sequel, is set to be released on June 26. While the majority of the original cast is not set to return, both Tom Cruise (Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell) and Val Kilmer (Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky) are going to appear in the film. 

There are currently two trailers out for the movie (both incredibly vague), the most recent of which premiered during the Superbowl. The new trailer depicted scenes of Maverick attending a military funeral. People quickly realized that Iceman had been missing from both of the trailers and assumed the worst. While the theory that Iceman is dead continues to circulate on the internet, I think it’s wrong. 

With hardly anyone from the original cast returning, why would filmmakers kill off Iceman? It doesn’t seem like the sequel can live up to the reputation of the original without Goose’s jokes, Charlie and Maverick’s romance, and Viper’s stern guidance, much less without the iconic Maverick/Iceman banter. But, there is one character that could die that would make sense (and advance the plot of the movie).

Tom Skerrit, the actor who played Viper, is not set to return in the sequel, and with funeral clips appearing in the trailer, we can only assume that whoever dies, dies pretty early on in the movie. Going off of that theory, Viper’s death could be what sets the events of the movie into motion, reminding Maverick why he wanted to be a Top Gun instructor in the first place. Not to mention that Viper was much older than both Iceman and Maverick, and it would make more sense for him  to die.

Besides, if Iceman dies, the movie would basically just be Tom Cruise in a plane.