Miles Teller is Tom Cruise's protege in 'Top Gun: Maverick'

The announcement of 'Top Gun: Maverick,' the sequel to Tom Cruise's supremely successful 1986 action drama 'Top Gun,' was met with great excitement from fans, with the film has been in development since at least 2010. The news also brought speculation of who will be portraying the character of Radar Intercept Officer LTJG Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw's (Anthony Edwards) son, with the Cruise's sidekick having died at in the first.

It has now been announced that Miles Teller, known for his role as Sutter Kelly in romantic drama 'The Spectacular Now' and Andrew Neiman in 'Whiplash' has been cast in the role, beating out the likes of Nicholas Hoult, Glen Powell, Dylan O'Brien, and Austin Butler in the process.

The news was broken by The Hollywood Reporter, who also suggested that the role had quite a bit of demand from some of the industry's top names and who went so far as to travel to Cruise's home in Clearwater, Florida, to audition for it. 

Cruise will be reprising his role as the United States Naval Aviator LT Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell for the much-awaited film, with his Van Kilmer similarly returning as arch-rival Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky. Harold Faltermeyer will be returning as the composer. The sequel will be directed by  Joseph Kosinski, who directed Cruise in 2013's 'Oblivion,' and the film is currently set for a July 12, 2019 release.