Top Gun: Who Did Tim Robbins Play & Why Didn't He Appear In The Sequel?

Throw a well-oiled, sand-covered volleyball in any direction of "Top Gun," and the likelihood of you hitting a star that was either in their prime (Tom Skeritt, Michael Ironside) or in the making (Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan) is pretty much a certainty. That Tom Cruise guy did pretty well after it, too. One actor you might have forgotten is in "Top Gun," however, is Tim Robbins, a star who would go on to have an impressive career appearing in films like "The Player," "Bull Durham" and what many deem one of the greatest films ever made, "The Shawshank Redemption."

In the 1986 film, Robbins appears as Sam "Merlin" Wells, Maverick's replacement radar intercept officer, following the death of his original wingman, Goose (Anthony Edwards), who was killed in action. While Robbins may have reunited with Cruise years later in Steven Spielberg's 2005 adaptation of "War of the Worlds," it might've come as a surprise to fans of Tony Scott's jet-propelled classic that Merlin was nowhere to be seen in the 2022 sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick." So why didn't Robbins get the call to get back in the sky? Well, while it does seem like it would feel a bit of a squeeze for Merlin to get back in the ranks, it's likely related to Robbins' preference to not make in sequels.

Long before "Top Gun: Maverick" started to get some air under its wings, Tim Robbins made it clear he'd never return for a sequel. Not just "Top Gun" either; any sequel. Speaking to MTV in 2008, Robbins expressed his view on the formula saying, "I don't like sequels, so I don't want to do sequels." When a possible follow-up to "Bull Durham," which he starred in alongside Kevin Costner, was mentioned, Robbins stated he wouldn't be down for making a comeback: "I wouldn't want to do it."

When discussing the idea of adding another installment to a story, it seemed like Robbins had it figured out, believing that for studios, it's all in the name to draw you back. "It's kinda cynical, actually. It's manipulation." Incredibly though, Robbins recalled that he'd often been thrown the suggestion that "The Shawshank Redemption" should receive a follow-up, regardless of the perfect ending in Frank Darabont's film. "Yeah, but where would you go? It would be like 'Andy and Red's Girls Gone Wild.' They've got a bar, hot college chicks. I don't think anyone wants to see that." Well, to quote Andy Dufresne's good friend, Red, we hope. We hope.