After years of rumors, Top Gun 3 just went official. During its presentation at CinemaCon 2026 in Las Vegas, Paramount Pictures has confirmed that the third part is “officially in development”, with a script in writing. Tom Cruise will reprise his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Jerry Bruckheimer returns to production. Enough to launch for good the new mission of the most famous pilot in cinema.
The studio speaks of a script “well advanced”, although no images or filming dates have yet been shown. Behind the scenes, the project relies on the same team as Top Gun: Maverickwith the screenwriter Ehren Kruger to maneuver and Joseph Kosinski expected to be realized. It remains to be seen how far this sequel, announced to be more introspective for Maverick, will go.
Top Gun 3 confirmed at CinemaCon: what does this new status mean?
At CinemaCon, Josh Greensteinhead of distribution at Paramount, made official what fans already assumed since the box office Top Gun: Maverick in 2022. The studio is no longer talking about an idea under discussion, but rather a film in active preparation, with Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer firmly attached to the project. This public speech marks a key step: in Hollywood, a film with a “script in development” can now enter pre-production as soon as the script is locked.
Prior to this announcement, Jerry Bruckheimer and Christopher McQuarrie had already suggested that the history of Top Gun 3 was “in the bag” after a long, structuring discussion with Ehren Kruger. Now, this work turns into screenplay pages, with back and forth between writers and studio to calibrate budget, aerial scenes and character arcs. No filming or release date has been set, but the industrial machine is clearly underway.
Top Gun 3: what kind of story for Maverick this time?
Interviewed by GQ, Joseph Kosinski said he had been working for a long time on a “big idea” for this third part, in conjunction with the Navy and the manufacturer Lockheed. “I think we found the solution, not only in terms of scale, but also in terms of the whole idea of the story,” he said. And to clarify: “We see things well beyond… It’s a real existential crisis that Maverick is going through, and it goes far beyond him.”
It’s hard not to see a more philosophical shift, around the aging of the hero, war modernized by drones or transmission to young pilots. Christopher McQuarrie also insisted on one point: for him, emotion must take precedence over the pure air show. If Top Gun 3 holds this line, this third part could become the most intimate chapter of Maverick, without giving up the flight scenes.
Top Gun 3: casting, pressure and fan expectations
Miles Teller and Glen Powell could return, while Top Gun: Maverick came close to 1.5 billion dollars and more than 4 million admissions in France, hence the fear of “one sequel too many”.