Tom Cruise officially confirmed that Top Gun 3 is in discussion, with filming anticipated to commence in 2025 and *fingers crossed* a potential release in 2026.
Glen Powell, who played Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin in Top Gun: Maverick, recently hinted at a production timeline, stating, “I mean, I have a date,” during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. While he held back from sharing specific details, this suggests that the project is hopefully moving forward.
With the creative team from Top Gun: Maverick expected to return, including director Joseph Kosinski and co-writer Ehren Kruger, and Tom Cruise likely reprising his iconic role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, the next film promises to deliver another high-flying adventure.
And let’s be honest—we wouldn’t mind another shirtless football scene to accompany the action. I mean, I wouldn’t complain.
Is there going to be a Top Gun 3?
Yes! Whilst Glen Powell has already addressed the highly anticipated question in 2024, we have further confirmation from one of the writers, Christopher McQuarrie, that it is well on its way.
“It’s already in the bag. I already know what it is. It wasn’t hard,” he shared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “I thought it would be, and that’s a good place to walk from.”
“You walk into the room going, ‘Come on, what are we going to do?” and Ehren Kruger [Top Gun: Maverick co-writer] pitched something, and we had one conversation about it. The framework is there, so it’s not hard to crack [it].”
“It’s as you start to execute it, and as you start to interrogate it, as you start [to think] why these movies are made the way they are,” he added. “It’s not the action, it’s not even the level of or intensity of or the scope and scale of the action [or] the engineering around the action, it’s none of those things — it’s the emotion.”
We can also expect Tom Cruise to reprise his role as Maverick, as he has spoken of the upcoming film during his Mission: Impossible promotional tour in Australia.
When questioned on the Today Show, “Can I ask you about Top Gun 3? Is that something that’s on the horizon?”.
Cruise replied with, “Yes, we’re talking and thinking about many different stories, and analysing what we can do and what’s possible.
“It took me 35 years to figure out Top Gun: Maverick. But all these things we’re working on, we’re discussing them: Days of Thunder, Top Gun: Maverick. And there are many other films we’re actively working on.”
When is Top Gun 3 coming out?
So the bad news for fans is that there is 36 years between the 1986 Top Gun and the release of the 2022 Top Gun: Maverick, but we can rest assured, as reports have already stated that we can hope to see Top Gun 3 in 2026.
According to Film Stories, the follow-up is seemingly expected to arrive winter of 2026.
On the Today Show, Cruise shared that he is quite the busy man these days, but we are hoping that this will take priority after Maverick made nearly $1.5 billion in global box office earnings, $95.53 million of that in Australia alone.
“I’m always filming a movie or preparing for a movie,” Cruise shared. “I just finished a project with Alejandro González Iñárritu and we’re going to come out with that. It was an extraordinary experience, and with McQuarrie, we’re always working on some different film.”
Where can I watch Top Gun?
Whilst we wait for the highly anticipated Top Gun 3, you can catch up on your dose of Top Gun (and hot men) with the OG 1986 Top Gun and the 2022 Top Gun: Maverick.
Stream Top Gun on Apple TV+ from $12.99/mth, with a 7-day free trial. WATCH HERE
Stream Top Gun: Maverick on Apple TV+ from $12.99/mth, with a 7-day free trial. WATCH HERE
