According to an exclusive by Deadline, Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) is joining the cast of Top Gun: Maverick as the film’s female lead. Connelly will portray a single mother running a local bar near the Navy base, and she is set join returning cast members Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer (The Doors, True Romance), as well as the most recent addition to the cast, Miles Teller. 

Tom Cruise, who originally starred in the 1986 classic Top Gun, confirmed sequel plans for the film, and it received an official “good-to-go” in May, 2017.

The production is set to begin later this summer, and the official title of the film will be Top Gun: Maverick. Cruise will return for the sequel to play the hotshot Navy pilot Maverick, and Kilmer will continue his role as Iceman.

It has been 30 years since the Tony Scott’s original film was released, and now Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion) is bringing back the film as director, seeking to add a new cast members to the already hefty ensemble. 

Teller (Whiplash, Divergent) was recently cast as the son of Goose, Maverick’s wingman, originally played by Anthony Edwards (Zodiac, Miracle Mile). 

The upcoming sequel is distributed by Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Production is set to begin in September in San Diego, CA.