Top Gun: Maverick breaks box office records, but no sequel is currently planned

Top Gun: Maverick continues to soar at the box office, breaking a 15-year record over Memorial Day weekend. Despite that success, however, there are currently no plans in place for Top Gun 3.

Top Gun: Maverick raked in $156 million over the four-day weekend (H/T Los Angeles Times), which makes the sequel not only the best-performing opening of Tom Cruise’s career, but also bests the previous Memorial Day box office record set in 2007 by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. 

We should keep any thoughts of Top Gun 3 grounded for the time being, however. On any thoughts of the future, Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Deadline, simply, "Let’s ride this wave."

That’s not to say it’ll never happen. Bruckheimer outlined how the gears eventually started turning on Top Gun: Maverick thanks to an impassioned plea from director Joseph Kosinski to Tom Cruise.

"Joe went to Paris where Tom was shooting Mission: Impossible; he had a look book and a poster. He wanted to make sure to do everything right including shooting in the jets with the actors," Bruckheimer revealed. "Tom lit up, and called the head of Paramount and that started the ball rolling."

In an interview with Total Film, Kosinski has pointed out an Easter egg that only "hardcore" fans would have spotted.

"So we actually copied the insert from the original movie to the point that we even put a very visible sticker on the stick that says 'missiles and guns', which is very 'movie,'" the director said. "But we actually copied it anyway to make it look fake, like the first movie. So that was a very insidery, very quick Easter egg for the hardcore Top Gun fans."

So… time to head back to the cinema to catch that, or hold out for the Top Gun: Maverick Paramount Plus release date. For more on what’s coming out this year, check out our guide to movie release dates.