Summary and Key Points: Top Gun 3 is officially happening, with stars Tom Cruise, Glen Powell, Jennifer Connelly, and Miles Teller set to return. While details are scarce, filming has a start date, though the exact timing remains undisclosed.

-The immense cultural and financial success of Top Gun: Maverick—the highest-grossing film of 2022—was a testament to its powerful resonance with audiences, celebrating American exceptionalism and traditional masculinity at a time when such themes were out of favor.

-While it's uncertain if Top Gun 3 can replicate this impact, the film is highly anticipated and expected to be another blockbuster hit.

Top Gun 3: What We Know About the Highly Anticipated Sequel

The success of Top Gun: Maverick all but ensured a Top Gun 3, leaving fans to speculate rampantly. Now, we know that Top Gun 3 has a start date. We know that stars from Maverick, like Tom Cruise, Glen Powell, Jennifer Connelly, and Miles Teller, will return. But little more is known.

Top Gun: A Cultural Phenomenon

Top Gun: Maverick was the highest-grossing movie of 2022 – but the film’s success was transcendent, reaching far beyond financial metrics. Rather, the film’s success was deeply cultural. It struck a nerve, and people went to see it again and again. Timing might have much to do with its success. 2020 and 2021 were dark times. The idea of American exceptionalism had faded, making it fashionable to denounce America and its values. Traditional masculinity was similarly out of fashion, deemed “toxic.” The result was a cultural ethos where no one was proud to be an American and no one was proud to be masculine. At least not outwardly. Popular media reflected the trend. But inwardly, millions stewed, feeling not quite right with the new normal.

Then Tom Cruise jumped into an F/A-18 Super Hornet and told his commanding officers to shove it like it was 1986 and America was on the cusp of a Cold War victory and everything was going to be okay. Maverick celebrated America and it celebrated being a dude. A repressed society rejoiced and rewarded the film with massive box office returns. 

That’s my theory, at least. So while the original Top Gun encapsulated a zeitgeist like few other films had, the sequel countered a zeitgeist at a time when such a response was overdue. It’s unlikely that a third Top Gun will be able to make such a cultural impact – but the Top Gun series has defied expectations twice before, and regardless, immense profit margins are all but guaranteed, so there will be a Top Gun 3.

What We Know So Far

“I mean, I have a date,” Powell said of Top Gun 3 filming, Entertainment Weekly reported. Powell declined to specify exactly when that date was.

“I’ll be there,” Connelly said, Movieguide reported. “I’m ready. We had such a great time shooting it. It was fun.”

And of course, Tom Cruise will return. “It will be Tom Cruise [leading the cast],” producer Jerry Bruckheimer said, according to Movieguide. “Tom is amazing. We spent time with him. We have a story. Joe Kosinski had a wonderful story idea for it, and [Tom] said, ‘ I really like that,’ so we’re developing it.”

Between filming, which hasn’t started yet, and post-production, we still have a few years before the movie will be ready for audiences.

About the Author: Harrison Kass 

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken. 

Image Credit: Creative Commons.