Oct 24, 2016 12:31 AM EDT By Eileen De Santos, UniversityHerald Reporter

Star actor Tom Cruise has confirmed this week that "Top Gun" will have a sequel. The star dropped the film secrets in a recent TV appearance.

US Weekly reported that Tom Cruise has brought the idea of a sequel to 80s evergreen movie "Top Gun" even closer, after admitting he's been discussing it with producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The actor appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Tuesday, Oct. 18, wherein the 54-year-old American actor admitted to Kimmel that he does enjoy being the hero in movies and beating the bad guys in movies such as "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" and "Top Gun."

Val Kilmer, who also starred in the original "Top Gun" movie, had announced in 2015 that there's a possibility that he would reprise his role, but then backtracked on the casting news. Fans of the movie seemed to have closed the chapter on a sequel after director Tony Scott died in 2012.

According to NY Daily, Bruckheimer also revealed the long- awaited news to Entertainment Tonight on Thursday. The producer had fuelled rumors in January when he posted a photo with Cruise on Twitter. He also posted a picture of the young Cruise inside the cockpit of a helicopter in "Top Gun."

"Top Gun" was released in 1986 and it became an instant hit, raking in over $350 million and becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. The first "Top Gun" stars Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval pilot aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Maverick and his Radar Intercept Officer Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) are given the chance to train at the Navy's Fighter Weapons School at Miramar in San Diego.

Most of the old characters in "Top Gun" are rumored to be back in case there's going to be a sequel, but they will be much older. It remains to be seen what plot or storyline we can expect from the sequel of "Top Gun," but maybe there will be one thing constant - Maverick flying that helicopter. Although the date of release is uncertain, fans of "Top Gun" now have a reason to look forward to a sequel.

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit