Top Gun: Maverick was the second-highest-grossing film of 2022, with fans of Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell flocking to theaters to watch the highly-anticipated sequel to the 1986 original. The action left audiences wanting more, and they are in luck, as it’s been announced that a third film is currently in the works at Paramount Pictures. Only known as Top Gun 3, the feature is slated to see Cruise reprise his much-loved role.
Word of Top Gun 3 comes just days after it was announced Tom Cruise had signed a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to both star in and produce films for the production company. It should be noted the agreement is non-exclusive, meaning he’s free to continue working with other studios.
It’s reported the third movie in the franchise has been in the works since the fall of 2023, with Top Gun: Maverick co-writer Ehren Kruger working on the script and Joseph Kosinski expected to return as either director or producer. Jerry Bruckheimer and David Ellison are also noted as being involved in the project.
On top of this, Cruise and co-stars Miles Teller and Glen Powell are set to reprise their roles as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw” and Jake “Hangman” Seresin, respectively.
Little else is available at the moment, in terms of details, and Paramount has yet to officially confirm the news.
Following the release of Top Gun: Maverick, Kosinski hinted that there could be a follow-up film. While participating with Bruckheimer at Deadline‘s Contenders LA3C panel back in December 2022, he said, “Is there another story that is compelling enough that we need to go back? It seems to me at the end of this film that Maverick has some gas left in the tank. He’s not settling down.”
In a March 2024 interview with ScreenRant, Bruckheimer revealed that a timeline has yet to be settled upon, given how busy Cruise’s schedule is at the moment.
“It will be Tom Cruise. Tom is amazing,” he said. “We spent time with him. We have a story. Joe Kosinski had a wonderful story idea for it, and he (Tom Cruise) said I really like that, so we’re developing it. But you never know when it’s going to get made because Tom is so busy. He’s doing Mission: Impossible right now, he’s got a picture after it. Hopefully, we’ll get a screenplay that he loves, and we’ll be back in the air again.”
Tom Cruise’s next big releases are the seventh and eighth films in the Mission: Impossible franchise, with the latter anticipated to hit theaters in May 2025. Given this timeline, it’s speculated Top Gun 3 will be his next big project after they’re complete. If true, this would mean his work with Warner Bros. Discovery will likely be pushed back.
The original Top Gun film’s release in 1986, while receiving mixed reviews from critics, was an immediate hit, with audiences in awe at the visual effects and action. Starring alongside Cruise were Anthony Edwards (Nick “Goose” Bradshaw), Val Kilmer (Tom “Iceman” Kazansky), Kelly McGillis (Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood) and Tom Skerritt (Mike “Viper” Metcalf), who helped the film bring in over $357 million at the box office.
Along with being a cinematic hit, the movie also helped increase enrollment in the US Navy.
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Top Gun: Maverick was the highest-grossing film of Cruise’s career, earning $1.49 billion at the global box office. Along with being named the Best Film of 2022 by the National Board of Review (NBR), the feature was also nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, taking home the Oscar for Best Sound.