Jennifer Connelly's inclusion in Top Gun: Maverick can be attributed to the absence of Kelly McGillis' Charlie Blackwood. Charlie's romance with Maverick was, of course, a major part of the original movie but has since become a thing of the past.
However, Charlie actress Kelly McGillis believes that there's a different explanation for not being called back for Top Gun: Maverick: her age and looks. "I'm old, and I'm fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about," she said in a 2019 interview.
Penny Benjamin, played by Jennifer Connelly, steps in to fill a difficult gap with her character in the much-anticipated “Top Gun” sequel.
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).
Amelia Benjamin is character in the feature film, Top Gun: Maverick. She is Penny Benjamin's daughter.
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.
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.
Is Penny Benjamin in the Original "Top Gun"? 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.
The sequel — which was awarded best film by the National Board of Review — sees Maverick, now decades into his career, wooing a bar owner (and daughter of an admiral) named Penny Benjamin.
Kelly appears as Sarah Kazansky - wife of Val Kilmer's character Tom "Iceman" Kazansky - in the 2022 action drama movie Top Gun: Maverick.
Maverick and Charlie's romance (and the chemistry that sizzled between Cruise and McGillis) was one of the backbones of the original “Top Gun,” but McGills wasn't asked to star in the sequel because her character was never even considered to return.
Why no Kelly McGillis? In Top Gun, McGillis was instructor Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood, who fell for Maverick, went off to a high-powered job in Washington then came back for him. Had they stayed together, Maverick would not have had a loner backstory in the sequel.
You will not, however, find Maverick's original instructor and love interest, Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood, memorably portrayed by Kelly McGillis in 1986's Top Gun.
Kilmer was born December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, the second of three sons to Gladys Swanette (née Ekstadt; 1928–2019) and Eugene Dorris Kilmer (1921–1993). His mother was of Swedish descent. His other ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, German and Cherokee roots.
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 owns a bar in proximity to the TOPGUN detachment's location and is a single mother to a daughter named Amelia Benjamin; Penny is presumably divorced, with Amelia mentioning that her father now lives in Hawaii with a different wife.
While McGillis implied to Entertainment Tonight in 2019 (when production on Top Gun: Maverick was underway) that aging is why she wasn't asked back, director Joseph Kosinski told Insider that McGillis and Ryan aren't part of the sequel because of how their characters would impact the new stories.
Top Gun: Maverick's Penny Proves It Was Right Not To Bring Back Charlie - IMDb. Top Gun: Maverick didn't bring back Charlie Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), Pete's romantic partner in Top Gun, and instead introduced the character of Penny. Though surprising, the change was ultimately better for the film.
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.
Despite Jennifer Connolly's Top Gun role only existing in the sequel, the actor used that brief mention of Penny in the original to help craft her character.
Penny Benjamin is introduced in Top Gun: Maverick as the owner and bartender at the bar popular with Top Gun and other military personnel. It is clear that she and Maverick have known each other for a long time. She is also a single mom to a teenage daughter, Amelia (Lyliana Wray).
Kelly McGillis has publicly speculated that aging and other physical changes over the years had to do with why she wasn't asked to return in Top Gun: Maverick.
The Hard Deck bar was built from scratch, right on the beach in Coronado, but Kosinski says the scene was inspired by a very real place—the officers club at Top Gun school in Fallon, Nevada, which Kosinski visited while prepping for production in 2017.
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.
Where is Carole Bradshaw in Top Gun: Maverick? Ryan did not reprise her role as Carole Bradshaw in Top Gun: Maverick. The reason for her absence was explained in a conversation between Maverick and Penny Benjamin discussing Rooster.