'Top Gun 3' is Officially Happening - With Tom Cruise Taking Part

Top Gun fans can rejoice. The franchise is returning with Top Gun 3, and Tom Cruise will be there to star in the film.

It was first revealed that Top Gun 3 was planned back in 2024, but Paramount film co-head Josh Greenstein provided a new update on the project at CinemaCon Thursday.

The movie is officially in development, with Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer working on it.

“Top Gun 3 officially in development with a script underway, reuniting Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer,” Greenstein said.

'Top Gun 3' a successor to 'Maverick'

The sequel to Tony Scott's 1986 hit, 2022's Top Gun: Maverick was a box office sensation, grossing $1.5 billion globally on a $170 million budget. The film featured Cruise reprising his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, with Miles Teller playing Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, the son of the late "Goose" Bradshaw, Cruise's running mate, played by Anthony Edwards in the original.

Val Kilmer also returned as Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the final role before his 2025 death, and the rest of the cast was equally star-studded:

• Jennifer Connelly as Penelope "Penny" Benjamin
• Jon Hamm as Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson
• Glen Powell as LT Jake "Hangman" Seresin
• Ed Harris as Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain
• Lewis Pullman as LT Robert "Bob" Floyd
• Monica Barbaro as LT Natasha "Phoenix" Trace

Joseph Kosinski directed Top Gun: Maverick, with Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie teaming up on the screenplay.

When will Top Gun 3 be released?

No date has been given, but it's clear that the movie is a top priority for Paramount. Owner David Ellison said as much last summer.

As for the storyline, McQuarrie, who was part of the writing team for Top Gun: Maverick, said in May 2025 that he and Kruger had "cracked it."

“No. It’s already in the bag. I’ve cracked it," McQuarrie said.

“That’s a good place to go from. You walk into the room going, ‘Come on, what are we going to do?’ And Ehren Kruger pitched something, and I went ‘Mmm, actually.’ And then we had one conversation about it. The framework is there, so no, it wasn’t hard to crack."