Top Gun 3: The Search for Tom Cruise's Replacement

The Need for a New Franchise Star

If the reports of Top Gun 3’s accelerated development are true, and the studio wants to turn Top Gun into a long-running franchise, then the threequel needs to finally confirm Tom Cruise’s official replacement. Top Gun: Maverick introduced a handful of lovable new characters who could take the mantle from Cruise, but the sequel didn’t end with Cruise passing the torch to a new franchise star. By the end of Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise’s Maverick is still very much the focus of the story.

Rooster talks to Hangman in Top Gun Maverick

After Top Gun: Maverick defied all expectations to become the biggest blockbuster hit of 2022 (at least until Avatar: The Way of Water came along), it seems like a no-brainer for Paramount to make Top Gun 3. But it’ll be tricky to repeat the success of Top Gun: Maverick while still feeling fresh and exciting. There are a couple of promising candidates from the supporting cast of Top Gun: Maverick who could inherit the franchise from Cruise, but Top Gun 3 needs to make a definitive decision about who that will be.

Tom Cruise as Pete Mitchell riding a motorcycle in Top Gun: Maverick

Potential Candidates to Replace Tom Cruise

Of all the newcomers introduced in Top Gun: Maverick, there are two potential candidates to take over Cruise’s mantle as the star of the Top Gun franchise. The most obvious choice would be Miles Teller as Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw. Rooster is the son of Maverick’s late RIO and best friend from the first movie, Goose. Throughout the Top Gun sequel, Maverick personally mentored Rooster and turned him into every bit the heroic fighter pilot that he is. He’s primed to take over the franchise in Top Gun 3.

But Top Gun: Maverick had another surprising standout who could instead take the torch from Cruise and lead the Top Gun franchise into the future. Glen Powell gave a wonderfully charismatic turn as LT Jake “Hangman” Seresin. Hangman is essentially this generation’s Iceman, the one who busts everyone’s chops but turns out to have a heart of gold. With Powell’s star on the rise and Hangman standing out as one of Top Gun: Maverick’s best new characters, he could lead Top Gun 3 instead.

Moving On From Tom Cruise's Maverick

As much fun as it would be to keep Cruise’s Maverick in the spotlight for all future Top Gun sequels, it wouldn’t be satisfying from a storytelling standpoint. Maverick had more story to tell after the original Top Gun movie, but Top Gun: Maverick has left him in a happy place. If Top Gun 3 keeps the focus on Maverick and tells another end-of-the-road story, then the franchise will start to feel repetitive. With Top Gun 3, the filmmakers need to think in the long term.