Now that Tom Cruise is no longer accepting any new assignments in the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, the star may finally have the time to turn his attention to another notable blockbuster sequel. Now that the Skydance Media-Paramount merger is complete, Deadline took a look at where things stand regarding the company’s film slate. Unsurprisingly, blockbuster projects have emerged as top priorities for the studio, with one such movie being Top Gun 3. While there’s still no production timeline or release date in place for the film, it might start to gain momentum in the near future, as Cruise is said to be “looking for what his next film could be.”
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“Top Gun is a priority for us,” Paramount Pictures co-chair Dana Goldberg is quoted as saying in the Deadline piece.
After 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick grossed $1.4 billion worldwide and earned widespread acclaim (including a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars), it seemed like a no-brainer to move ahead with a third installment. While Top Gun 3 has been in the works for some time, it seemingly hasn’t made much progress over the last couple of years. Chief among the reasons why is likely Cruise’s availability. He was busy making Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and a new movie with director Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
In late May, Top Gun 3 got an exciting update when screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie shared that he and co-writer Ehren Kruger had cracked the story. Despite that, there’s still no guarantee the film will happen. Joseph Kosinski, director of Top Gun: Maverick, said the team will only make the movie if they feel they have “a strong enough story” that’s worth telling.
Cruise was working on an underwater thriller titled Deeper, but it was recently put on hold due to budgetary concerns. As Cruise shops that film around to other studios, he’s evidently searching for another gig in the interim. The stars could be aligning for Top Gun 3, which obviously can’t happen without Cruise. Paramount considers the franchise a priority and now the leading man has some free time on his hands. Depending on how things go with the script, Top Gun 3 could get fast tracked. Assuming everything comes together soon, it’ll be interesting to see if Kosinski is able to return as director. After helming the successful F1, the filmmaker has multiple projects of his own in development, including a UFO conspiracy thriller.
Of course, Cruise is never one to take it easy, and he always has several things in the works he can pivot to. People are still waiting for an Edge of Tomorrow sequel. Cruise has expressed interest in making a movie musical. There’s no guarantee Top Gun 3 will be a priority for him even if Paramount is ready to go. As someone who takes his craft very seriously, Cruise isn’t going to rush something for the sake of making a quick buck at the box office. If he isn’t happy with how things stand on Top Gun 3, he’ll move on to something else. Hopefully, it won’t be much longer until Maverick takes to the skies again.
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