Official: Top Gun 3 is coming—with Tom Cruise

Now it's official: "Top Gun 3" is coming! And that's not all: Tom Cruise is returning as well. This was just revealed at CinemaCon.

Blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer is also back on board for the sequel to "Top Gun: Maverick." The film has been in development for a while now. Ehren Kruger was hired as a writer two years ago. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the previous film alongside Christopher McQuarrie and Eric Warren Singer. But one big question remains: What about "Maverick" director Joseph Kosinski, who most recently enjoyed great success with the racing drama "F1"? Whether he will also return was not revealed at CinemaCon. However, as the Hollywood Reporter notes, no other director was mentioned either. In that regard, Kosinski's return cannot be ruled out.

Top Gun: A Box Office Hit

In the original 1986 film "Top Gun," Tom Cruise made his screen debut as top pilot Pete Mitchell. Tony Scott directed the film. The film proved to be a success, grossing $357 million at the global box office. With "Top Gun: Maverick" in 2022, Cruise made a spectacular comeback. The sequel became a massive hit, grossing nearly $1.5 billion worldwide. So the stage is set for the success of "Top Gun 3."

The makers of the third installment are certainly glad to have Tom Cruise on board again. After all, the enormous success of "Top Gun" is due in no small part to him. Cruise remains one of Hollywood's most recognizable stars. He can now look back on a decades-long career full of hits. In recent years, he has made a name for himself primarily through his action roles. In addition to "Top Gun: Maverick," the "Mission: Impossible" films in particular have become the flagship of his ambitions in the action genre. The series began in 1996 and came to a provisional conclusion last year with "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning." Over the course of the eight installments in the blockbuster series, his stunts became more spectacular with each film, cementing his status as an action hero.

What's next in Tom Cruise's career?

But what comes next? Higher, faster, further? Perhaps deeper. It's often overlooked that Tom Cruise isn't "just" a compelling action hero, but also a skilled portrayer of complex, profound characters. He has already worked with legendary directors like Stanley Kubrick and Paul Thomas Anderson. In films like "Interview with the Vampire," "Eyes Wide Shut," and "Magnolia," he has proven time and again what he's capable of as a character actor.

However, the films mentioned date back to the 1990s and are therefore quite a while ago. This year, however, Cruise can be seen as the lead actor in a new film that is likely to surprise many who primarily associate the Hollywood star with his action roles. The film in question is "Digger" and is set to showcase a different side of Cruise. A trailer was recently unveiled at CinemaCon, depicting him as "insane, cat-loving billionaire with a big belly, a comb over and a thick southern accent," as Variety reports.

The director of Digger previously helped another Hollywood star win an Oscar

The director of "Digger" is the renowned filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu. With his survival drama "The Revenant," he already helped another major Hollywood star win his first Oscar for Best Actor in 2016: Leonardo DiCaprio. Tom Cruise recently received an Honorary Oscar. However, the actor has so far waited in vain for the Best Actor Oscar. Who knows: with a film like "Digger," that might just change. "Digger" hits theaters on October 2, 2026. You can get a first look at Tom Cruise in the role of Digger Rockwell in the following teaser: