Director Christopher McQuarrie shared a huge update with fans that the sequel to "Top Gun: Maverick" is not only happening, but the script is "already in the bag."
Speaking on Josh Horowitz's latest episode of his "Happy, Sad, Confused" podcast, McQuarrie let a bit more information out about the highly anticipated "Top Gun 3" movie and said he had already conquered one of the hardest parts, and that's figuring out what the story will be about.
'It's already in the bag," McQuarrie responded when asked if Maverick was harder to crack than the third film in the franchise. "I already know what it is. No, it wasn't hard. I thought it would be, and that's a good place to go from is you walk into the room going, 'Come on, what are we going to do?'"
Christopher McQuarrie says he's cracked the story for #TopGun3 ✈️
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) May 26, 2025
"It's already in the bag"
(via Happy Sad Confused) pic.twitter.com/CQWrxXTt1L
McQuarrie, who co-wrote the script for "Top Gun: Maverick," is back to co-write the next "Top Gun" movie with co-writer Ehren Kruger.
"And Ehren Kruger pitched something and I went, 'Mm, actually,' and we had one conversation about it and the framework is there," the director said. "So, no, it's not hard to crack. The truth of the matter is, none of these are hard to crack."
"It's as you start to execute it, and as you start to interrogate it, as you start [to think] why these movies are made the way they are: It's not the action, it's not even the level of or intensity of or the scope and scale of the action [or] the engineering around the action, it's none of those things — it's the emotion," he added.
"Tom [Cruise] and I inherently understood that [emotional] balance and everyone else around us was pushing for what they wanted in the movie for in the micro," McQuarrie continued. "And Tom and I were focused entirely on the macro."
"Top Gun: Maverick," the sequel to the 1986 box office hit "Top Gun," was a massive success in 2022 for the studio. It was a time when people weren't going to the movies, as the pandemic had shut down the world for almost two years.
The "Top Gun" star has proven over and over again that he understands what the audience wants and continues to show Hollywood how a movie star should act by avoiding talking politics at movie promotional events and in his films, RedState reported.
Brandon Morse wrote that:
Recently, Cruise has been promoting his upcoming film, the highly anticipated "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning." Not only has he announced he's showing up to theaters to greet fans in person as showings...
... but he's also making sure none of his fans or moviegoers feel alienated in any way, making all feel welcome to see the movie.
Cruise figured out what other celebrities haven't. If you don't comment on divisive things, and keep the focus on the movie, then people will be more apt to show up and watch it.
READ MORE: Tom Cruise Refuses to Give the Press Anything When Asked About Trump's Tariffs
And it's clearly paying off after his latest film, "Mission: Impossible–The Final Reckoning," had a series-best at the box office over Memorial Day weekend. In response, the actor posted a message on social media simply thanking fans for showing up.
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) May 27, 2025
The message in his X post read:
This weekend was one for the history books! Congratulations and thank you to every filmmaker, every artist, every crew member and every single person who works at the studios. To every theater and every employee who helps bring these stories to audiences, thank you. To everyone that works at Paramount Pictures and Skydance, thank you for your many years of partnership and unwavering support. And most of all, THANK YOU to audiences everywhere for whom we all serve and for whom we all LOVE to entertain. Sincerely, Tom.
In order to make both the final "M:I" movie and "Top Gun" films, Cruise sought help from the United States military, something we once again love about this star.
The Department of Defense wrote recently that:
As Paramount Global and famed actor Tom Cruise put together their eighth installment of the "Mission Impossible" franchise, "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning," the studio once again reached out to DOD to use its many military assets to create cinematic magic.
Hollywood has a long-standing relationship with the department, both to ensure military stories are depicted accurately and to keep sensitive information from being disclosed. For the latest — and possibly final — Mission Impossible movie, heavy-duty assets from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps were needed.
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