Kate Middleton and Prince William were reportedly treated to a special viewing of Top Gun: Maverick by Tom Cruise himself.
The royals were given a preview of the upcoming film at the IMAX cinema off London’s Leicester Square, according to The Sun. Top Gun: Maverick is slated to premiere in theaters May 27.
Top Gun: Maverick is a follow-up to the 1986 Top Gun original in which Cruise played Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a pilot student training with the U.S. Navy.
Cruise, 59, greeted Prince William, 39, and Middleton, 40, at the private screening of the film in addition to having the event arranged after learning the Duke of Cambridge is a fan of the original, The Sun added.
The screening was also reportedly attended by other British royal family members including William’s aunt, Sophie Wessex, and cousins, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.
Kensington Palace had no comment when reached by PEOPLE on Friday.
Prince William previously served as a pilot with the Royal Air Force, making his interest in the film no surprise.
“It’s a very unlikely movie premiere, but Tom made the offer after learning William is a fan. They happily accepted. Let’s face it, guests don’t get much more A-list!” a source told The Sun. “The rest of the cinema was shut to ensure privacy.”
The source continued, “Tom welcomed them and said he hoped they’d enjoy watching it as much as he’d enjoyed making it, and left them to it.”
Cruise is no stranger to the British royal family and previously met the late Prince Philip in 2017 during a dinner marking the 75th Anniversary of The Outward Bound Trust at Buckingham Palace.
The Mummy actor met the late Princess Diana along with his ex-wife and actress Nicole Kidman in 1992 at the Leicester Square Empire Cinema during the premiere of the romantic drama film Far and Away.
Cruise attended the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997 alongside Kidman while the two were still married.
In a trailer of the upcoming film, Maverick is shown moving into a teaching position at the request of his former classmate Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), who is now a high-ranking Navy official.
“[Iceman] seems to think that you have something left to offer the Navy. What that is, I can’t imagine,” says Jon Hamm‘s character, who works for the military group.
“I’m not a teacher. Just want to manage expectations,” says Maverick, before the rest of the trailer plays out in a bevy of action-packed scenes.
Also starring Glen Powell and Jennifer Connelly, Top Gun: Maverick — after multiple postponements due to the pandemic — is now expected to hit theaters May 27. Ahead of its theatrical release, it will also screen at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
