Top Gun 3: Everything We Know About Tom Cruise’s Sequel So Far

Another chapter is being written for one of Hollywood’s biggest-grossing franchises. In April of 2026, Paramount Pictures co-chair Josh Greenstein announced that Top Gun 3 is in development following the franchise’s success with Top Gun: Maverick, released in 2022 and earning a record-breaking gross of $1.5 billion worldwide. The legacy sequel starred Tom Cruise in his legendary character Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and was joined by Val Kilmer, Glen Powell, and Miles Teller. Rumors of a third installment have been swirling ever since The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news in January of 2024, but it wasn’t until this year that the confirmation cemented the long-awaited sequel.

When Is Top Gun 3 Set To Release?

No official release date for Top Gun 3 has been announced at this point in the process, as it still seems to be in the earlier stages of development, with the script being written by Ehren Kruger, who most recently wrote the script for F1. Joseph Kosinski, the director of the film, who directed Top Gun: Maverick, while speaking to British GQ in June, 2025, said that they were working on it but also noted,

There’s still more story to tell for him. There’s one last ride. 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.

For the unversed, in May 2026, Paramount re-released Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick to commemorate the franchise’s 40th anniversary.

Who Is Returning For Top Gun 3 Cast?

Tom Cruise and Miles Teller in Top Gun: Maverick | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Tom Cruise is officially returning as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Other than that, several other Top Gun: Maverick, cast members have been announced to be returning. Jennifer Connelly, who played Penny in the second film, told Entertainment Tonight back in April of 2024,

I’ll be there. I’m ready.

Glen Powell, who played Lt. Jake Hangman Seresin, hinted on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in July of 2024 and said,

“I mean, I have a date.“

Jay Ellis told Entertainment Tonight back in May of 2026 that Paramount, Cruise, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are all very excited for where this is going. He said,

I would say there is a script. I think it’s been announced there is a script. 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.

A release date is yet to be announced for the movie by Paramount. No official cast announcements beyond Tom Cruise have been made by Paramount at this point, and it remains to be seen who will be officially announced as production nears a start date.

What Will Be The Plot Of Top Gun 3?

Tom Cruise in a still from Top Gun | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Exact details about the release and filming have not been revealed by Paramount. However, in his British GQ interview, Joseph Kosinski made clear that the Maverick story is not, in fact, finished. The third film, he said, is “one last ride for him.” Co-writer and producer Christopher McQuarrie was more categorical, saying in a May 2025 interview on the Happy, Sad Confused podcast that the story was “already in the bag.” On the other hand, the creative teams’ ambition, as revealed by Ellis, aims to “push the medium forward” the way Top Gun: Maverick has pushed the original film, which was no small challenge considering the sequel’s box office success.

Are you excited for Top Gun 3? Let us know in the comments below.

Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick are currently available to stream on Paramount+.