Top Gun: Maverick, producer Jerry Bruckheimer reveals why he hasn't discussed Top Gun 3 with Tom Cruise. Given its commercial and critical success, a follow-up to Joseph Kosinski's Top Gun sequel should have already been greenlit by Paramount at this point. Several Top Gun: Maverick actors have repeatedly expressed their desire to reprise their roles in the potential threequel. However, it seems like there's still no substantial movement on its development because the most important conversation to be had hasn't happened yet.
Speaking with Variety, Bruckheimer says that he hasn't discussed Top Gun 3 with Tom Cruise. Watch the clip below:
For context, Cruise is still working on Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One and its direct sequel, Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part Two, which he not only star in but also produce. Given this, Bruckheimer understands how busy the actor is, so he has yet to broach the subject of Top Gun 3 which could be a long conversation.
"He's in the middle of shooting Mission Impossible, he's got a lot of very difficult, hard stunts he's doing. It's not the time to take attention away from what's important to him right now."
Can Top Gun 3 Happen Without Tom Cruise?
Admittedly, Top Gun: Maverick's ending could also double as the swan song for the franchise. The sequel gave Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell the perfect send-off, with both his personal and professional woes sorted out. He has fixed his reputation in the Navy after successfully carrying out his latest dangerous mission, and he has patched things up with Goose's son, Rooster, not to mention rekindling his romance with Penny Benjamin. Suffice it to say, there are no more lingering plot lines involving him that need to be tackled. However, in the age of franchises, Paramount has the chance to build their own lucrative film series, and it's likely that they won't pass up on the opportunity to do that.
Given Cruise's busy slate, however, it would take several years before Top Gun 3 gets off the ground, assuming that it actually pushes through. The actor is particularly protective of the Top Gun franchise considering the legacy of the first film. He waited for the perfect story and made sure that they did it in the best possible way. For Top Gun 3, however, the film series can shift its focus toward his contemporaries, while Maverick takes the back seat temporarily. This allows Paramount to get the threequel out as much as possible without Cruise having to drop out from any of his other endeavors. Despite his proposed reduced role in Top Gun 3, Top Gun: Maverick already proved that it can make the most out of limited screen time as seen with Iceman's role in the sequel.
So, while it's almost impossible to do Top Gun 3 without Cruise, temporarily putting Maverick on the sidelines could be the best compromise for the much-clamored threequel to push through. Not only does it allow Cruise to continue work with his other projects, but it also gives new characters like Rooster and Glen Powell's Hangman the opportunity to be at the center of the storytelling, setting up their lead roles in the burgeoning franchise. Finally, it also minimizes the risks of undoing Top Gun: Maverick's perfect ending.
Source: Variety