After a lengthy delay caused by the pandemic, last summer saw the long-awaited release of Top Gun: Maverick in theaters. A hit with critics and audiences alike, it vastly exceeded box office expectations to become the biggest movie of 2022 (until Avatar: The Way of Water rocked up).
With over $1.5 billion worldwide and some serious Oscar buzz, Top Gun 3 becoming a reality seems like a no-brainer. However, while director Joseph Kosinski and various cast members have shared their hopes for a third instalment, no official announcements have been made.
During a recent red carpet appearance, Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer was asked what's happening and explained why he's yet to discuss threequel plans with Tom Cruise.
"He's in the middle of shooting Mission Impossible, he's got a lot of very difficult, hard stunts he's doing," the producer explained. "It's not the time to take attention away from what's important to him right now."
In other words, he's a little busy successfully pulling off death-defying stunts to talk Top Gun 3 right now! We're sure Cruise does plan to return to this franchise at some point, especially as the sequel stands out as by far the most successful movie of his career. Providing it's just as good as the second instalment, a third chapter could easily break as many box office records.
As always, we'll have to wait and see what happens, and we'd bet on a third movie only happening so long as everyone involved can find the right story. That's no bad thing, though, as it would be a real shame to underwhelm after a sequel that it seems everyone loved watching on the big screen.
Stay tuned for updates.