Top Gun 3 is reportedly under production at Paramount as Tom Cruise sets a deal with Warner Bros.

According to a report from Puck News, Paramount is currently working on Top Gun 3, which will see Tom Cruise alongside his Top Gun: Maverick co-stars Miles Telles and Glen Powell. A draft for Top Gun 3 is being written by co-writer Ehren Kruger, with director Joseph Kosinski planning to oversee the project as producer.

Cruise is currently occupied with Paramount's project Mission: Impossible 8. Recently signing a non-exclusive deal at Warner Bros, he appears to be completing other projects before moving forward with them. In addition, Cruise is also working on a forthcoming outer space movie with Universal and NASA, directed by Doug Liman.

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Will there be a Top Gun 3 movie?

Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Image via Paramount)

Top Gun was released in 1986 and was a big hit, grossing over $357 million. Thirty-six years later, Top Gun: Maverick made well over $1 billion at the box office. Its massive success made it the highest-grossing movie of Cruise's career and a hit for him and Paramount, increasing the likelihood of a sequel.

On January 11, 2024, Puck News reported that Top Gun 3 will be Paramount's potential next project after Mission Impossible 8. The news led many to speculate that it may be the three-time Oscar nominee's next film.

The news came out a few days after Cruise had reportedly signed a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, according to which he would collaborate on creating original and franchise feature films with the co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group. However, as things are going, Cruise is not likely to kick off any project at Warner Bros.

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What may Top Gun 3 be about?

Maverick's next mission (Image via Paramount)

Maverick's conclusion didn't specifically hint at a third film but wasn't necessary for a follow-up to succeed. The plot of Top Gun 3 will undoubtedly include a new mission that Maverick and the other pilots must complete; the details will be secondary to the significance of this mission for the character development of these individuals.

But Maverick did sow the seeds of a possible new story since Admiral Cain intended to replace pilots with an armada of drones in place of human pilots. Top Gun 3 may pit Maverick and the other human pilots against Cain's drones to demonstrate that humans are more powerful than machines.

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What happens in Top Gun: Maverick?

Set thirty years after the events of the previous installment, it centers on Captain Pete Maverick Mitchell's return to the US Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program. Cruise's character must face the ghosts of his past while mentoring a group of younger pilots, preparing them for a dangerous mission requiring the ultimate sacrifice.

Situated in an underground bunker at the end of a canyon, the Navy has been charged with destroying an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant before it becomes operational. Maverick is to train a select group of Top Gun grads instead of participating in the strike.

Apart from being a great test pilot pushing boundaries, Mitchell (Tom Cruise) also has a problematic relationship with a hotshot lieutenant who harbors resentment towards him. Notably, Kilmer (Tom "Iceman" Kazansky) made a spectacular, although tearful, comeback for a reunion sequence with Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.

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Top Gun can be watched on Paramount+ and Paramount's free streaming service Pluto TV. While Top Gun: Maverick can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+.