Top Gun 3 has a way to keep Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell relevant to the franchise without solely relying on him. The wait for Tony Scott’s Top Gun follow-up proved to be worth it with Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick becoming both a critical and box-office success for Paramount. The sequel focuses on Maverick’s professional and personal arc four decades since he was last on the screen in 1986. Top Gun: Maverick ends with the perfect happy ending for the character, but between its financial potential following the sequel’s billion-dollar haul and its quality, there’s an assumption that it’s only a matter of time before Top Gun 3 happens.
After Top Gun: Maverick effectively revives that now-burgeoning franchise, Top Gun 3 will be the ultimate test if it actually has the legs to be sustainable in the long run. It’s worth noting that despite countless invitations to finally revisit the ’80s cult classic, Cruise was very careful to make sure that they had the right story before doing a sequel, knowing full well the massive risk that they’re undertaking in case the follow-up fails. The actor will likely continue to be attached to the threequel — if ever it happens, but it needs to shift its focus away from Maverick to ensure its future.
Maverick’s Top Gun 3 Should Revisit His Original Sequel Job
At the end of Top Gun: Maverick, it’s unclear what Mitchell’s standing is with the Navy. While he is able to sort out his personal life, getting back together with Penny and patching things up with Rooster, his professional arc is still in limbo. He has been clear about not being a teacher, which means that he may have not accepted a permanent stint at TOPGUN despite doing a great job with his first batch of trainees. He has also been adamant about refusing any desk job, explaining that he is a pilot.
Given these, it would be best if Top Gun 3 simply revisits Maverick’s original job in the sequel as a test pilot. While it may seem like a downgrade given his skills and experience, Mitchell appears to be content with this particular post. He has a team that is loyal to him, he is able to test the limits of flying without being an active fighter pilot, and most importantly, he is in proximity to both Penny and Rooster. TOPGUN can easily call him in if they’re in need of his services.
Why Top Gun 3 Needs To Sideline Maverick
While Top Gun: Maverick tackles Mitchell’s story, it also introduced a batch of new elite pilots that can carry the franchise moving forward. Goose’s son, Rooster and Maverick’s real successor, Hangman, can become the new faces of the budding film series in the future, but that cannot be done unless Cruise takes a step back. Top Gun 3 can function as a transitional story that centers on developing Rooster and Hangman’s relationship and individual arcs. Meanwhile, the threequel can keep Maverick relevant by elevating him to an unofficial mentor status. Perhaps his contemporaries can even help him with his own endeavors as a test pilot.
Once both Rooster and Hangman are properly established characters, the Top Gun universe can bring back Maverick at the center of its storytelling. Whether that’s going to set up the next chapter of his life or the end of it depends on Cruise. It’s worth noting that aside from the Top Gun franchise, he is also busy with other endeavors. Limiting his involvement in Top Gun 3 ensures that it can move forward sooner rather than later.
Top Gun 3’s Best Maverick Story Has A Tom Cruise Problem
All of these won’t happen if they don’t have any blessing from Cruise. The actor is synonymous with Top Gun, and considering what Top Gun: Maverick is able to accomplish, it’s safe to say that he will be extra careful with handling the franchise in the future. That means that he will want to be involved with it creatively. It’s difficult to say if he’s even willing to take a step back to let his contemporaries take charge.
That being said, it’s also no secret that he is a big proponent of cinema. Once he realizes that this is the best course moving forward, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that he takes on a smaller role in Top Gun 3 for the betterment of the franchise. For what it’s worth, his cameo in Tropic Thunder is proof that he is willing to do this. In any case, he can still be involved in the film creatively behind the scenes.