Joseph Kosinski has confirmed that Kelly McGillis has not been approached about appearing in Top Gun: Maverick.

In an interview with Insider, the director revealed that the Witness actress will not appear in the upcoming sequel, even though she played Charlie Blackwood – the love interest of Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell – in the 1986 action drama.

In addition, Kosinski confirmed that Meg Ryan, who played Nick “Goose” Bradshaw’s wife Carole in the original, was also left out.

“These weren’t stories we just threw out there,” he explained to the outlet. “I didn’t want every storyline to always be looking backwards. It was important to introduce some new characters.”

Kosinski further emphasized that there are many references to the first film to keep fans interested, such as Miles Teller in the role of Goose’s son, Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, and Val Kilmer as Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky.

And he was able to introduce Jennifer Connelly as Penny Benjamin, who was briefly mentioned in the original.

“Penny Benjamin, a character we’ve heard of but never seen before, was a great opportunity to bring Jennifer Connelly’s character into this film,” the filmmaker added.

Top Gun: Maverick, also starring Jon Hamm, Glen Powell and Ed Harris, hits U.S. theaters on May 27.