Producer Jerry Bruckheimer provides an update on Top Gun 3’s story and production timeline. A legacy sequel to Tony Scott’s original film from 1986, the Joseph Kosinski-directed Top Gun: Maverick was released in theaters in 2022 and enamored audiences with its high-octane aerial sequences on its way to grossing $1.4 billion at the box office. In light of this remarkable success, a third movie is reportedly in development with Tom Cruise returning as Maverick alongside Miles Teller as Rooster and Glen Powell as Hangman.

During a recent interview with Screen Rant promoting The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Bruckheimer provided an update on Top Gun 3’s story, which Kosinski has a “wonderful” idea for that Cruise “really” likes. Asked if Powell will potentially take over, the producer confirmed that Cruise will be leading the team once again. He also discussed when the sequel might get made considering the star’s busy schedule. Check out Bruckheimer’s full comments below:

It will be Tom Cruise. Tom is amazing. We spent time with him. We have a story. Joe Kosinski had a wonderful story idea for it, and he (Tom Cruise) said I really like that, so we’re developing it. But you never know when it’s going to get made because Tom is so busy. He’s doing Mission: Impossible right now, he’s got a picture after it. Hopefully, we’ll get a screenplay that he loves, and we’ll be back in the air again.

What To Expect From Top Gun 3’s Story & Production Timeline

Much remains unknown about Top Gun 3‘s story, especially since the Top Gun: Maverick ending didn’t overly set up a sequel, though it did leave enough narrative threads for a follow-up to unfold organically. Similar to the sequel, the threequel will likely revolve around a new mission that calls Maverick and his fellow Top Gun pilots back into service. If the same writing team behind the sequel returns to pen Top Gun 3‘s story, it will likely have an equally strong script. Top Gun Maverick earned an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, a real rarity for action movies.

Another major uncertainty regarding Top Gun 3 is when it will actually get made. Cruise is currently busy filming Mission Impossible 8 and when he’s finished, Bruckheimer says “he’s got a picture after it.” The producer is likely referring to Cruise’s secretive collaboration with the Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. After that, Cruise may even have more projects lined up under his new partnership with Warner Bros., such as Edge of Tomorrow 2, that may further postpone the production timeline for Top Gun 3.

Top Gun: Maverick is the sequel to the 1986 original film starring Tom Cruise as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a top-tier pilot in the Navy. Thirty years after the original film’s events, Maverick is asked to head up a section of the TOP GUN program to embark on a dangerous mission. Things become personal when the program includes the son of Maverick’s late friend, forcing him to confront his past.