Warning! Spoilers ahead for Top Gun: Maverick.
Paramount secretly introduces Top Gun 3's villain in Top Gun: Maverick. Director Joseph Kosinski's Top Gun sequel was more than 30 years in the making despite acting as a direct follow-up to the original Top Gun. Immediately after it became clear that Top Gun: Maverick was a runaway critical and commercial success, questions about a third film emerged, and while there is no official word for it, it's likely only a matter of time before Top Gun 3 is greenlit.
In Top Gun: Maverick, the story of Tom Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell continues almost four decades since he was first introduced in Tony Scott's original 1986 cult classic. Despite his piloting skills, not to mention his flying mission record, the daredevil pilot remains a lowly Naval Captain. Inevitably, however, Maverick is able to lead a perilous mission that brings him back into the good graces of the Navy. Top Gun: Maverick ends on a high note as it also sees him reconciling with the late Nick "Goose" Bradshaw's (Anthony Edwards) son, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller).
Admittedly, Top Gun: Maverick's ending could very well serve as the finale for the two-film series. That being said, the chances of Paramount taking that option are slim to none, especially when taking into account Top Gun's franchise potential and runaway financial success. So, while it hasn't explicitly set up a threequel, the villain for Top Gun 3 may have already been set up. Top Gun: Maverick introduced Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain, played by Ed Harris. The character only appears at the start of the film; and once the narrative shifts back to TOPGUN Flight Academy, he's no longer involved. His arrival, however, could have a significant impact on the franchise's future. Cain believes that eventually, the Navy will do away with piloted aircraft, leaving the Mavericks of the world essentially useless. This sets up a compelling potential plot for Top Gun 3 as a new generation of pilots trained in the mold of Maverick such as Rooster, Phoenix (Monica Barbaro), and Maverick's true successor, Hangman (Glen Powell) fight to emphasize that Cain's technological endeavors are no substitute for skill in the cockpit.
Maverick's specific professional fate at the end of Top Gun: Maverick is bleak. It's unclear if Mitchell retired from the Navy or if he's still serving the organization in any capacity. Regardless, his legacy will continue beyond his own flying stint with the new batch of pilots that he trained and flew with in Top Gun: Maverick. This effectively pits them against Cain and his plans as they know all too well that the success of missions boils down to the pilot in the box. That's what Maverick has proven and what they confirmed themselves in Top Gun: Maverick. So instead of another global safety issue as it was with the last two Top Gun films, Top Gun 3 could focus on the TOPGUN school's goal to prove Cain's belief wrong.
While the focus will likely shift more heavily to the new pilots in Top Gun 3, Maverick can still hang around as a mentor-type character for any potential threequel. After Top Gun: Maverick, Mitchell's personal arc as a fighter pilot himself is finished. Instead, he could guide Rooster, Phoenix, and Hangman as they navigate Naval bureaucracy and establish themselves as the next breed of great pilots for the organization.
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