Tom Cruise surprises San Diego Comic-Con audience with "Top Gun: Maverick" trailer

Tom Cruise surprised a thrilled San Diego Comic-Con audience Thursday with the official trailer for "Top Gun: Maverick." It may be 34 years since the original film dropped, but the video shows Cruise's character Pete "Maverick" Mitchell still very much has the need for speed.

Cruise appeared unexpectedly at the end of the panel for the upcoming film "Terminator: Dark Fate" after comedian Conan O'Brien introduced him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to say hello to the biggest movie star you're gonna meet in a long, long time: Mr. Tom Cruise," said O'Brien as a smiling Cruise sauntered onstage in a video posted to YouTube by Variety. After the crowd in the 8,000 seat room calmed down, the star went on to introduce the long-awaited trailer, reports the Associated Press.

The trailer, which clocks in at about two-minutes long, began with a shot of what appeared to be a desert, with mountains in the background.

"Thirty-plus years of service. Combat medals. Citations," a voiceover says, as video of what appears to be Maverick flying a plane. "Only man to shoot down three enemy planes in the last 40 years. Yet, you can't get a promotion, you won't retire and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die."

The shot then reveals Ed Harris' character speaking to Maverick, asking why he isn't "at least a two-star admiral by now."

"It's one of life's mysteries, sir," Cruise responds, when the camera cuts to nostalgia-inducing shots of Maverick donning his famous leather jacket and a pair of aviators. A montage of various scenes -- and characters -- from the film play over triumphant music before returning to the shot of Harris and Cruise.

"The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction," said Harris. Cruise responds "maybe so, sir. But not today."

Cruise posted the trailer, which now has nearly three million views, on Twitter Thursday afternoon with the caption "Maverick is back. #TopGun."

The 1986 film follows Maverick as he navigates elite fighter pilot training, becoming friends with Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) and trying to romance his instructor, Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). 

"Top Gun: Maverick" is expected to hit theaters in June 2020. Val Kilmer, Jon Hamm and Miles Teller co-star.