Top Gun: Maverick made tidal waves at the box office earlier this year, along with being a hit with audiences and critics alike. It’s even still screening in some theaters. Naturally, fans are wondering if we will ever see another installment of the Top Gun saga, to which Jerry Bruckheimer has responded with a solid maybe. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the legendary producer pointed out that it’s up to Tom Cruise if another sequel gets made, who is too busy for talks at the moment:

It’ll be a ways off if another Top Gun film does get made, but the producer certainly hasn’t closed his doors to the possibility.

“He’s in the middle of shooting Mission: Impossible 8, and that’s his focus. Once he finishes, we can have a conversation. But then he goes up in space [for another movie] and something else. So I have no idea.”

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Bruckheimer was also asked if Top Gun: Maverick shouldn’t get a sequel “to protect the franchise’s legacy,” and he pointed out that the same argument was made regarding the original 1986 Top Gun:

Fans often go crazy over sequels, but at the same time, a sequel that gets rushed often flops - if not at the box office, at least in the audience’s hearts. If a third Top Gun movie gets made, it’ll be like hitting a bullet with a bullet with yet another bullet, according to Tom Cruise. Hopefully, there won’t be another 36-year-long wait, as Tom Cruise is now in his sixties, and Bruckheimer is nearly eighty - but neither plan on retiring anytime soon.

“What you’re saying is interesting because that was the point of view after the first one. Tom said to me and to Paramount, “If we’re going to make a sequel to Top Gun, we’ve got to hit a bullet with a bullet.” And that’s what he did.”

Tom Cruise Fought Paramount to Keep Top Gun: Maverick in Theaters

     Paramount Pictures

The distribution company for the film, Paramount Pictures, originally wanted the film to go straight to their streaming service in addition to a theatrical release. Tom Cruise, however, did not agree, believing the movie deserved to be seen on the big screen. Jerry Bruckheimer says he regrets not joining Cruise for that fight:

The bet clearly paid off, with Top Gun: Maverick becoming the highest-grossing film of this year so far, the highest-grossing film of Cruise’s career, and the second movie released since the COVID-19 pandemic to cross the $1 billion mark. Of course, movies can’t stay in the theater forever, and Top Gun: Maverick will hit Paramount Plus later this week.

“I wish I could say I got involved. But he was battling that. He took that all on his shoulders. You have to understand he is a prize for Paramount. He’s somebody they’ve worked with for years. They want to keep him happy. So I think it was a smart move on their part — not only to ingratiate themselves with Tom but also to fill their coffers.”

Bruckheimer isn’t the only one involved in the film who is open for another, with cast member Jay Ellis saying “we’d love to do it again,” and the director Joseph Kosinski claiming there’s “gas in the tank” for another installment.

Top Gun: Maverick was released on May 27th, 2022, via Paramount Pictures. The movie will be available to stream on Paramount Plus starting December 22nd, 2022. Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, Glen Powell, and Jay Ellis star in the film, which was directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, and David Ellison.