"Top Gun 3" in Works

Paramount is developing a third entry in the Top Gun franchise.

"Top Gun: Maverick" co-writer Ehren Kruger is penning a script for what would be a new installment that would see Maverick director Joe Kosinski and Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, and Glen Powell all return for the threequel.

The development comes days after Warner Bros. Discovery announced that Cruise had signed a deal to star and produce movies for Warners, though that pact is non-exclusive. 

The acclaimed actor’s recent movies have largely been at Paramount, though he did not have a deal there. While some could view the Top Gun news as a tit-for-tat in the war for Cruise headlines, the reality is this sequel has quietly been in development since late fall.

"Top Gun: Maverick" was a massive overperformer at the box office in 2022, earning $1.5 billion globally and sparking Steven Spielberg to credit Cruise with saving the theatrical business, which had been beleaguered by the coronavirus pandemic. The pic followed decades after Tony Scott’s 1986 epic "Top Gun", which helped cement Cruise as a rising movie star.

Cruise is currently working on an eighth entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise, which will keep him occupied until at least its release, currently set for May 2025. It took a few years of development before Maverick became airborne.