More than two decades later, it’s not just Tom Cruise who’s feeling the need for speed. All over the world, Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to Cruise’s 1986 Top Gun, is flying high, soaring to $1.2 billion at the box office so far. Cruise may be used to having blockbuster hits, but his long-awaited Top Gun sequel has become his biggest movie to date.And now, with the film’s success, all everybody wants to talk about is whether a third installment is happening.
Tom Cruise Was Pitched Top Gun Sequel While Shooting Mission: Impossible
Back in 2017, producer Jerry Bruckheimer showed director Joseph Kosinski a script that would inspire him to do a Top Gun sequel. “So, I read the script, I had some ideas, and Jerry liked those ideas,” Kosinski said.
Of course, no Top Gun sequel can ever happen without Cruise returning as Maverick. Around that time though, the actor was hard at work on a Mission: Impossible film and Bruckheimer knew that if they were going to pitch to him, it had to be done in between takes.
“So we flew to Paris, where Tom was shooting Mission: Impossible, we got about a half hour of his time between setups,” Kosinski recalled. “And I basically had 30 minutes to pitch this film, which I didn’t realize when we were flying over.”
When they got there, however, Cruise “really didn’t want” to do a sequel. Nonetheless, Kosinski was determined. “It’s one of those moments as a director, you have one on every film, where you’re on the spot to make a case for why this movie should be made,” he explained. “I had 30 minutes to do it.”
As it turns out, the 30-minute pitch was enough to persuade Cruise. “I just pitched this idea of Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller) growing up to become a naval aviator, and him and Maverick having this fractured relationship that had never been repaired,” Kosinski recalled. “With Maverick getting called back to train this group of students to go on a mission that he knows is very, very dangerous.”
From there, things progressed quickly. “He [Cruise] picked up the phone, he called the head of Paramount Pictures and said, ‘We’re making another Top Gun,’” Kosinski recalled. “It’s pretty impressive to see the power of a real movie star in that moment.”
Tom Had Specific Conditions For Maverick
At the same time, Cruise also had some conditions. For starters, he insisted that his former co-star Val Kilmer should also reprise his role. In addition, several of the cast members had to take flying lessons. These include Teller, Glen Powell, and Monica Barbaro.
“We started with the Cessna 172, and we took them through basic flying. This allowed them to see what it was like to take off, land, and know where to look and put their hands,” Kevin LaRosa Jr., the film’s aerial coordinator explained.
From here they trained on other aircraft, eventually advancing to the F/A-18. By then, LaRosa Jr. recalled that the cast members “were confident, and they felt good.” “They didn’t have to worry that they were in this high-performance fighter jet flying through canyons,” he added.
Will There Be A Top Gun 3?
Despite Top Gun: Maverick’s billion-dollar haul at the box office, Paramount is yet to comment on the possibility of a Top Gun 3. As for Cruise, it seems the A-lister is seriously considering it already. “I’ve been having some conversations with him [Tom Cruise] about it,” Teller even revealed to Entertainment Tonight. “We’ll see.” Later on, the actor also added, “That would be great, but that’s all up to TC. It’s all up to Tom.”
And in case anyone is wondering, it seems Teller is almost set to return as Rooster, especially with Top Gun: Maverick becoming the biggest film of the year so far. “That's definitely what my team has been saying for these future negotiations,” the actor jokingly remarked.
As for Kosinski, he also believes that Top Gun 3 would solely depend on Cruise. “It took 36 years for Tom to agree to do this one! He’s the one that has to be convinced,” the director said. “That’s how this project started, with Jerry and I going to Paris to talk Tom into it. It’s all about story. It’s all about emotion. If we can figure out a way, a journey for Maverick to go back and be with these young pilots and figure something out, maybe it could happen. I think for now, we should just enjoy that we got this one.”
At the moment, Cruise already has several future projects lined up including two Mission: Impossible movies and an untitled film collaboration with NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. And with the success of Top Gun: Maverick, the actor may also be more inclined to do a follow-up to Edge of Tomorrow with Emily Blunt now.