Entertainment
It's Official: Tom Cruise Is Returning For The Biggest Sequel Of His Career
By TeeJay Small
| Published
Back in 2022, Top Gun: Maverick dominated the box office, and made waves as one of the most successful legacy sequels of all time. Despite the original Top Gun being such a major hit, audiences were shocked to see the follow-up perform so well nearly 40 years down the line. Now, according to a report from Variety, we can confirm that Tom Cruise has officially signed on to make Top Gun 3. The third installment has long been rumored to be in the works, though Cruise has yet to confirm his involvement until a recent appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
What A Successful Legacy Sequel Looks Like
In case you don’t recall, Top Gun: Maverick released in May of 2022, right when the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning to die down. As a result, the film became one of the first blockbusters that reassured studios and audiences alike that the theater industry would eventually bounce back. To this day, some fans still credit Maverick for saving cinema as we know it. The film grossed over $1.5 billion on a $170 million budget, making it one of the most financially lucrative outings of all time.
From an artistic perspective, Top Gun: Maverick was also respected for delivering high octane thrills and really solid character work. Some viewers criticized the sequel for its bare bones plot, but others recognized it as one of the best “vibes movies” of the decade. Newcomers to the franchise such as Miles Teller and Glen Powell also received a major boon for their career, while Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer got to give their original characters a nice send-off.
The Next Big Blockbuster?
For now, there’s no word on the plot of the new film, though we can surmise that Maverick and crew will return to their naval base to perform some sick aerial moves and save the day. Powell, Teller, and several others are confirmed to be joining Cruise in the upcoming movie, with Ehren Kruger attached to pen the screenplay. Kruger is previously credited with co-writing Top Gun: Maverick alongside Eric Warren Singer and frequent Tom Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie.
If everything goes according to plan, Top Gun 3 could be even bigger than the last film. With no ongoing pandemic to contend with, and few massive blockbuster films on the horizon, the threequel might even have a shot at cracking the top ten highest grossing movies of all time. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what Cruise and his team have in store. In the meantime, both Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick are streaming for free on Pluto TV, so there’s plenty of time to catch up on the franchise.