Between the original Top Gun movie in 1986 and its sequel, Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, 36 years passed. It now appears that we won’t have to wait as long for a third Top Gun film. But will it be as good as the first two? That’s the question everyone wants answered.
Top Gun 3: What We Know
Su-57 in Top Gun: Maverick. Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot.
On April 16, Variety reported that a third Top Gun movie is in the works, with Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer set to return, following Paramount Pictures’ announcement at the annual CinemaCon convention that the film was in development.
It’s probably not surprising, since David Ellison was among the producers of Top Gun: Maverick, and he’s not only now running Paramount, but is about to take control of another studio as well, with a stated goal of embracing lots of high-value intellectual property and down-the-middle releases.
Matt Belloni, of the newsletter Puck, had reported back in early 2024 that Maverick screenwriter Ehren Kruger was “officially at work” on the sequel, that actors Miles Teller and Glen Powell were both returning, and that Joseph Kosinski, who directed Maverick, would either direct or produce.
This week, following the CinemaCon announcement, Belloni provided an update in his Puck newsletter: While Kruger’s script is “close to being turned in,” producers are “prepping for the likelihood” that Kosinski won’t be back as director, and are looking for another director. It’s also not clear whether Top Gun 3 will be Cruise’s next film after Digger, which comes out later this year, but Paramount would like for that to be the case.
SR-72, maybe. Screenshot from Top Gun 2 Trailer.
Can Maverick’s Success Be Repeated?
While there was a lot of skepticism when it was first announced, mostly because of how much time had passed, Top Gun: Maverick was a nearly complete success. It received nearly unanimous critical approval, and audiences loved it too, making it the biggest box-office hit of 2022. It was even nominated for six Academy Awards, though it won only for Best Sound.
And while the film was delayed by more than three years from its originally planned release date due to the pandemic, it helped establish the continued viability of movie theaters at a time when some moviegoers still feared returning. Steven Spielberg credited Maverick with saving Hollywood.
Top Gun: Maverick also seemed to transcend any notions of political or generational division: Just about everyone who saw it loved it.
Another key to the sequel’s success was that it got so much right as a movie. Maverick had a compelling story to tell, centered on Maverick returning to Top Gun, feeling guilt about the death of Goose in the first film, and wanting to save his late friend’s son, Rooster (Miles Teller), from a similar fate, while engaging in familiar dogfights.
The military missions were exciting, especially how the movie explained how they would work and what was necessary. Enthusiasts of military planes also found much to love, from Maverick going Mach 10 in an SR-72 DarkStar to the return of the F-14.
F-14 Tomcat at the Smithsonian. Image Credit: 19FortyFive.com
F-14 Tomcat. Image Taken by 19FortyFive.com
F-14 Tomcat. Image Taken by 19FortyFive.com
But it’s the near-perfection of the second film that makes me somewhat skeptical that lightning could strike twice.
Top Gun 3? Really.
The main thing: Tom Cruise is currently 63 years old. The third film hasn’t even begun filming yet, so once it reaches theaters, he’ll probably be eligible for Social Security, and possibly even closer to 70 than he is to 60. It’s not totally unheard of for someone in their 60s to play action, and Cruise is in a pretty high percentile when it comes to physical conditioning, not to mention movie-star good looks.
But in the last Mission: Impossible movie last year, Cruise looked noticeably older than he had in the previous one. Cruise has been making noises lately about stepping away from action roles and moving back into the sort of prestige pictures he was making in the 1990s, and he’s set to star later this year in an Oscar-bait movie called Digger. Another Cruise project, a collaboration with SpaceX that was to be the first Hollywood movie shot in space, was reportedly scrapped last year.
The other question is, what story is there to tell?
The second film found a specific story to tell, inspired by the events of the first, while remaining true to the Maverick we met back in 1986. It also sank Cruise and friends into the modern military, with one plot point dealing with the military brass’ desire to cancel certain projects and jets.
The Top Gun universe doesn’t have much natural story left to explore, based on what we’ve seen in the previous movies. Will it put Maverick and Rooster at odds? Put Maverick against more bureaucrats?
F-14 Tomcat at the Smithsonian. 19FortyFive.com original photo.
F-14 Tomcat at the Smithsonian. Image Credit: 19FortyFive.com
It could certainly delve into modern military controversies, or perhaps events inspired by the current Iran conflict, which has featured multiple moments, from Operation Midnight Hammer to the recent rescue of pilots, that recall specific events from Top Gun: Maverick.
But the Top Gun franchise, across both movies, has long been allergic to politics, and also extremely, deliberately vague about what country they’re in or who they’re supposed to be fighting. And any script written now, considering the likely long production time, could end up dated by the time the movie gets made. Maverick going up against, stay, a stand-in of Pete Hegseth is not the kind of thing that would in any way be true to what the Top Gun movies are.
Looking Ahead
If Top Gun 3 ultimately gets made, I will see it, and there’s a good chance I will even enjoy it. But I also know that Top Gun: Maverick, like many great movies, was a confluence of perfect factors, and that something like that is hard to imagine coming together just as perfectly a second time.
And that’s despite Tom Cruise and his collaborators having a high demand for quality control on the projects they make.
In the meantime, though, the original Top Gun is set for a 40th-anniversary big screen re-release in May, including a double feature with Maverick.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
