NEED TO KNOW
Top Gun: Maverick was released in 2022, grossing $1.5 billion at the box office
In April 2026, Paramount Pictures officially confirmed that a Top Gun 3 is on the way
The next month, Top Gun: Maverick cast member Jay Ellis said “we’re making baby steps” when it comes to the third movie
Get ready to fly back into the danger zone.
In 2022, Top Gun: Maverick, the legacy sequel to the ’80s action classic Top Gun, soared into theaters, ultimately grossing $1.5 billion worldwide.
The movie starred Tom Cruise, reprising his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, along with Val Kilmer, who starred in the original and returned for the sequel. Other cast members included Glen Powell, Miles Teller and more.
In January 2024, The Hollywood Reporter first reported that Top Gun 3 was in the works, with Paramount Pictures officially confirming the news in April 2026. More recently, Top Gun: Maverick cast members like Jay Ellis have provided more updates on the next installment in the high-flying franchise.
Here’s everything to know about Top Gun 3, and if Cruise will be back for one more Maverick adventure.
Will there be a Top Gun 3?
Miles Teller in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Credit: Courtesy Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Yes, Top Gun 3 is “officially in development with a script underway,” Josh Greenstein, co-head of Paramount Pictures, said at April 2026’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
During the Paramount presentation, Greenstein confirmed that the upcoming sequel will be “reuniting Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer.” The Armageddon director produced the franchise’s first two films.
Who is in the cast of Top Gun 3?
Tom Cruise as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’; Jay Ellis as “Payback” in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’.
Credit: Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures; Paramount Pictures
Cruise is confirmed for Top Gun 3. Plus, several other actors from Top Gun: Maverick have teased their returns for the next entry.
During a July 2024 interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Powell — who played Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the sequel — said, “I mean, I have a date,” when asked when filming for Top Gun 3 would begin.
As for Jennifer Connelly, who starred as Penny in Top Gun: Maverick, she told Entertainment Tonight in April 2024, “I’ll be there. I’m ready.”
In May 2026, another Top Gun: Maverick cast member, Ellis, said the team was “making baby steps” on the third film. “I would say there is a script. I think it’s been announced there is a script,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “Paramount’s very excited about it. Tom is very excited about it. Bruckheimer’s very excited about it.”
“The gold standard is like, how do we push this film past what the last film was?” he continued. “And I think that’s why you see Tom take such a long break between making the original Top Gun and making Maverick, is he wanted to make sure we were pushing the medium forward. And with this next one, we hope to do the same, whenever they’re ready to do it.”
What is the plot of Top Gun 3?
Glen Powell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Credit: Paramount Pictures
The plot details for Top Gun 3 have not been revealed. However, Cruise’s character will most likely be the focal point of the film.
“There’s still more story to tell for him. There’s one last ride,” Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski told British GQ in June 2025. “So we’re working on it now. Ehren Kruger, who wrote F1, is writing the script. Like all things, it takes a while to work things out, and we’ll only do it if we feel like we’ve got a strong enough story.”
In a May 2025 episode of the Happy, Sad Confused podcast, Christopher McQuarrie — who co-wrote and produced Top Gun: Maverick — said the plot for the third movie was “already in the bag.”
When will Top Gun 3 come out?
Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Credit: Paramount Pictures
A release date for Top Gun 3 has not been confirmed.
In honor of Top Gun’s 40th anniversary, both the original and Top Gun: Maverick were re-released in theaters in May 2026. They are also available to be streamed at home on Paramount+.
Read the original article on People