‘Top Gun 3’ Officially Announced — Christopher McQuarrie to Direct?

‘Top Gun 3’ is officially happening at Paramount. The threequel was announced at CinemaCon this afternoon.

No release date was announced. No director. No cast. Cruise is seemingly available at the moment, having already shot Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Digger.” As far as we know, he is not set to shoot any movie this year.

Last we heard, Christopher McQuarrie — Tom Cruise’s longtime collaborator and, possibly, his valet — is penning the script for ‘Top Gun 3,’ and recently told the Happy Sad Confused podcast he had “cracked” the story for the third instalment.

Given McQuarrie’s deep involvement in Cruise’s recent projects, it raises the question: will he also step in to direct? That’s what’s being rumored. The previous film, “Top Gun: Maverick,” was helmed by Joseph Kosinski, but he’s too busy at the moment, with three big projects coming up. For now, McQuarrie is pocketing a cool $5M to write the script.

The sequel is set to reunite Cruise with co-stars Miles Teller and Glen Powell, along with producers Jerry Bruckheimer and David Ellison. Powell mentioned in 2024 that the cast had been asked to “hold a date” for filming, though no specific timeline was given.

‘Maverick’ was a massive hit, earning $1.4 billion globally — even without a release in China. It became a genuine cultural phenomenon, drawing audiences back to theaters in the midst of the pandemic.

McQuarrie, who earned an Oscar for “The Usual Suspects,” made his directorial debut with 2000’s “The Way of the Gun.” Since then, he has become Tom Cruise’s most frequent creative partner, writing and directing action hits like “Jack Reacher” and the last four ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies. He also contributed as a writer and/or producer on several other Cruise projects, including “Valkyrie,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,” and “The Mummy.”