Will Top Gun: Maverick Ever Get A Sequel?

I think it is safe to say that, as of when this is being written, "Top Gun: Maverick" is the film of 2022. Now, you may not consider it the best film of the year, but in terms of impact on the world at large, nothing beats it. Its status as a box office juggernaut has been firmly established, having grossed an astounding $1.4 billion worldwide and consistently holding a place in the top five domestically every weekend. The film only just hit digital retailers for purchase yesterday. Even more unheard of in today's quickening theaters to home video pipeline, its physical media release on 4K and Blu-ray won't be until November 1, 2022 — 23 weeks after its initial release. Tom Cruise and Paramount have successfully turned "Top Gun: Maverick" into an event. It helps they made a great movie as well.

Because this is Hollywood, you cannot simply have one enormous success with a picture and be content with it. No, we must immediately be discussing the possibility of a sequel. As Tom Cruise is now 60 years old, the possibility of waiting another 36 years for a sequel seems out of the question, so if one comes along, it would have to be relatively soon. Nothing has been announced, and the people involved are skittish to broach the notion. Frankly, if a sequel were ever to happen, it all comes down to Tom Cruise.

Tom Cruise rarely agrees to a film on a whim. "Top Gun: Maverick" was his first picture since "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" four years ago. He's at a stage in his career where he and his chief collaborator Christopher McQuarrie carefully hone their projects to be the highly effective pieces of entertainment that only a movie star like Cruise can deliver. The whizz-bang spectacle of stunts are what jump out at the audience, but what Cruise really requires when he makes a movie is a rock solid story. You listen to just about any interview with him, such as his recent appearance on the Light the Fuse podcast, and he constantly preaches the gospel of the importance of story.

Variety recently spoke to the producer of "Top Gun: Maverick," Jerry Bruckheimer, about the possibility of a third film in the "Top Gun" franchise, and he very plainly laid out that it's really up to Tom to decide:

"You have to wait and see if you get the right story ... and if Tom wants to play this character again."

Director Joseph Kosinski similarly wasn't bullish on the idea, giving a simple, "Boy, I don't know." I have no doubt everyone involved feels a tremendous amount of pressure to capitalize on the success, but Tom Cruise is too savvy of a Hollywood player to jump the gun on this. If a "Top Gun: Maverick" sequel sees the light of day, I don't think it will be for at least five years. He still needs to wrap up two "Mission: Impossible" movies, not to mention the other projects he and McQuarrie have been developing. At that point, he'd be 65, and while he's certainly defied much of the aging process, it comes for us all eventually.