Welcome to the danger zone for the third time.
Top Gun 3 has officially been confirmed, with Paramount announcing the newest installment during its CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas.
Tom Cruise is set to return alongside producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Top Gun 3 Announced
Paramount announced the news on April 16th during CinemaCon, with Paramount Pictures Co-Chair Josh Greenstein revealing the sequel is “in development with a script underway, reuniting Tom Cruise and [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer.”
A director for Top Gun 3 hasn’t been announced yet. Joseph Kosinski took on the mantle for the second film after the original Top Gun director, Tony Scott, died in 2012.
While the announcement didn’t come until recently, a 2025 interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast revealed there was a story idea for the third film.
Christopher McQuarrie, one of the writers for Maverick, said, “It’s already in the bag. I already know what it is. It wasn’t hard. I thought it would be. And that’s a good place to go from. You walk into the room going, ‘Come on. What are we going to do?’ And Ehren Kruger pitched something, and I went, ‘Mmm, actually…’ And we had one conversation about it. The framework is there.”
Rumors Flying
While some confirmation about Top Gun 3 came in 2025, rumors have been flying about another film not long after Top Gun 2 premiered.
Early 2024 was the launching point, and many actors and others behind the scenes hinted at another installment, but none would go so far as to confirm anything.
One of the most viral claims was from John Powell, one of the actors in the second film. He mentioned he would reprise his role, and even cryptically hinted at knowing when filming would start. However, nothing was concrete until now.
The Success of Top Gun 2
Top Gun 2 was released in 2022, when many theaters were still shuttered after COVID-19. However, it didn’t impact the film’s success, as the movie became a blockbuster hit, grossing $1.5 billion at the global box office from a $170 million budget.
It now ranks as the fifth-highest grossing film of all time at the domestic box office.
The film later earned six Academy Award nominations, including best picture, and won the Oscar for best sound. Maverick was just what the movie industry and theaters needed to kickstart the industry again.
In the second installment, Cruise returned as Maverick 36 years after the 1986 original. In this version, Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is no longer the student but the teacher, assigned to teach a new batch of pilots to run a dangerous mission.
He also must encounter Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of his best friend Pete “Goose” Bradshaw, who died in the first film. The two must put aside their differences to not only get through the mission, but to return home in one piece.
Continuing a Franchise
Tom Cruise is returning to Top Gun, continuing a franchise after he just closed the book on his other blockbuster franchise, Mission: Impossible. The last installment came in 2025, titled The Final Reckoning.
Cruise’s next performance will be in Digger, which comes out this fall.