Top Gun 3 has been circling the runway for a while now, which is both exciting and mildly torturous. After Top Gun: Maverick became one of those rare legacy sequels that actually lived up to decades of expectations, fans have been waiting to know whether Tom Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer and the rest of the crew could really find a way back into the danger zone. Thankfully, one of the Top Gun stars has just offered a thrilling update about the threequel, and the movie has never felt so real.
During a red-carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight for his new show Not Suitable for Work (which started streaming on June 2 for everyone with a Hulu plan or Disney+ subscription) Jay Ellis gave fans a promising update. The actor, who played Payback in Top Gun: Maverick, was asked about a possible return for Top Gun 3. And his answer made the sequel feel less like wishful thinking and more like something actually taking shape. Ellis said the project is moving, even if nobody is trying to rush it:
We're making baby steps, I would say. There is a script, I think it's been announced that there is a script. Paramount's very excited about it, Tom's very excited about it, Bruckheimer's very excited about it. That whole crew, to work with somebody like Tom, Jerry, McQuarie, and then Joe Kosinski, what a creative powerhouse. They've seen so much, they've done so much. And I think the gold standard is, 'How do we push this film past what the last one was?' And I think that's why you see Tom take such a long break between making the original 'Top Gun' and making 'Maverick' is he wanted to make sure we were pushing the medium forward, and with this next one, we hope to do the same whenever they're ready to do it.
That is the kind of update that makes my little movie-loving radar start pinging. A script exists. Paramount is excited. Cruise is excited. Bruckheimer is excited. That is not the same thing as Top Gun 3 getting a release date, so don’t expect it on the 2026 movie calendar, but it does sound like more than someone casually doodling fighter jets in the margins of a notebook.
Part of what made Top Gun: Maverick work so well was the new class of pilots. The stellar sequel cast included rising names like Oscar nominee Monica Barbaro, Twisters star Glen Powell, Jay Ellis, and more, and the actors have talked before about how intense the experience was. Considering what the Top Gun: Maverick cast had to do for the flying scenes, it makes sense that the group stayed bonded.
The Running Point alum has also shared sweet memories from that set, including a story about Tom Cruise hopping onto a FaceTime call with his dad while they were filming. His dad, who served in the Air Force, was apparently shocked to find himself suddenly talking to the Risky Business star. Honestly, same. If Cruise popped into my FaceTime, I’d probably just stare into the camera.
Per Ellis, filming Maverick hit differently coming from a military family. The sights and sounds of Naval Air Station North Island brought him back to growing up with his Air Force father, which adds another layer to why returning for a third movie would feel meaningful.
Ellis also made it clear that the people behind Top Gun 3 understand the assignment. He praised the creative team behind the franchise, because let's face it, it is a pretty stacked group. Cruise, Bruckheimer, Christopher McQuarrie and Joseph Kosinski did not make Maverick feel huge by accident. The movie worked because it respected spectacle, danger and emotion.
It also sounds like everyone involved has their hearts in the right place. Cruise does not seem interested in making another sequel just because the last one printed money. He wants a reason to fly again, and considering the wild first day Jon Hamm had meeting Tom Cruise on the Maverick set and Cruise’s history of surprising fans at Mission: Impossible screenings, the man still clearly cares about the audience experience.
So, yes, baby steps are enough for now. There is a script, the major players are excited, and the man behind Payback sounds ready to reunite with the Top Gun crew. After Maverick, “good enough” will not fly. Thankfully, nobody involved seems interested in good enough.
Until then, fans can always revisit the original Top Gun and its box-office juggernaut sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, both of which are available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription.
