Top Gun: Maverick is the biggest box office hit of 2022 and Tom Cruise’s career, so a Top Gun 3 seems inevitable, but surprisingly, recent speculation from the cast suggests that a sequel might not happen. In the belated sequel to the 1986 classic Top Gun, Maverick picks up with Cruise’s Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as he is tasked to train recent Top Gun graduates to fly an impossible mission. Although there was hype and excitement for the action movie, Top Gun: Maverick‘s box office performance and critical reception have surpassed all expectations, a combination that would ordinarily all but guarantee a sequel.
Not only should Top Gun 3 happen because of its incredible financial success, but there are plenty of new, young pilots, including Miles Teller’s Rooster, who can be the focus of a Maverick sequel. However, there are potential roadblocks for the prospective sequel. If Top Gun 3 does happen then Tom Cruise will have to be a part of it, but his busy schedule has cast doubts on the future of the Top Gun franchise. Top Gun newcomer Jay Ellis, who plays lieutenant Reuben “Payback” Fitch in Maverick, has stated that he doesn’t think that Top Gun 3 will happen, although he hasn’t ruled it out. Ellis and the rest of the Top Gun: Maverick cast are all keen to take to the skies with Cruise again, but the Hollywood star’s upcoming movies may get in the way of Top Gun 3 happening any time soon. That said, even with these practical constraints, the record-breaking success of Top Gun: Maverick would mean that no Top Gun 3 at all would be a major surprise.
Why Hasn’t Top Gun 3 Been Announced Yet?
Top Gun 3 has not been announced because Tom Cruise’s competing projects mean that the action star hasn’t been able to commit to a Maverick sequel yet. While the third Top Gun installment will probably have a greater focus on Rooster and the younger pilots, it’s unthinkable that Cruise won’t be involved. Miles Teller has expressed interest in a sequel, but admitted that it’ll be down to Cruise to determine whether it will happen or not. Cruise is currently focussing on the upcoming Mission: Impossible movies with frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie. The Mission: Impossible sequels are set to be just as ambitious as Maverick, so right now Cruise does not have time to work on Top Gun 3.
Why Top Gun 3 Should Happen
The financial success of Top Gun: Maverick is enough to justify Top Gun 3 alone. Maverick has brought in almost $1.5 billion at the global box office, the most of any 2022 movie by a long way. Jurassic World Dominion is the only other film this year to breach the $1 billion mark, while other big blockbusters, like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Minions: The Rise of Gru, have come close. Now that Maverick is a proven box office hit, Top Gun 3 should be almost guaranteed to happen.
Top Gun 3 also makes sense from a storyline perspective. Although Tom Cruise’s Maverick will undoubtedly feature in Top Gun 3, the sequel should shift its focus to the franchise’s new pilots. Maverick introduced several compelling characters, including the troubled Rooster, the arrogant Hangman (Glenn Powell), and the determined Phoenix (Monica Barbaro). There are lots of directions that Top Gun 3 can take, but it would be a smart move to make Miles Teller’s Rooster the focus given he is the most layered new character, and he is intrinsically tied to the original Top Gun given he is the son of Goose, Maverick’s deceased best friend. When Top Gun 3 will be greenlit and released, and what it will be about is still unknown, but given Top Gun: Maverick’s success a sequel still seems inevitable.
