What to Know About ‘Top Gun 3’

When Tom Cruise starred in the 1986 action flick Top Gun, he was still in the early days of his career, having appeared in dramas like The Outsiders and Risky Business. While the movie was a hit, it would be more than three decades until Cruise would return to the Top Gun universe with 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick. 

Fans of the long-awaited sequel won’t have to wait for the third entry in the series. A third Top Gun movie is in the works at Paramount, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and his Maverick co-stars Miles Teller and Glen Powell will be reprising their roles in the follow-up. 

The movie has been in development since late 2023, but it’ll be a while before fans will get to see it. Cruise currently has his hands full working on an eighth Mission: Impossible movie, which will keep him busy until its release in May 2025. Plus, Maverick required years of development before it ever saw the light of day, so its exact timeline of filming and release is anyone’s guess. 

It remains unclear whether or not Val Kilmer, who appeared alongside Cruise in the original Top Gun and reunited with him in Maverick, will be involved in the project. But just having him in the last movie and bringing him into the new generation of Top Gun was enough for Cruise. 

“That was pretty emotional. I’ve known Val for decades,” Cruise said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2022. “For him to come back and play that character… He’s such a powerful actor, that he instantly became that character again.”

Third time might be the charm for a Top Gun movie to take Best Picture at the Academy Awards.