Things are heating up behind the scenes for Tom Cruise and longtime collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, who recently revealed that several major projects — including Top Gun 3 — are already well underway.
Top Gun 3 Already Being Worked On
McQuarrie, director of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, stopped by the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz and casually dropped a major update: the Top Gun sequel? Yeah, it’s basically locked and loaded.
“That one’s already in the bag,” McQuarrie said, adding, “I already know what the story is.”
What’s surprising is just how easy the process was. “It wasn’t hard,” he explained. “I thought it would be — I walked into the room like, ‘Okay, what do we even do here?’ And then [co-writer] Ehren Kruger pitched something, and I just went, ‘Actually…’ We had one conversation and suddenly, the framework was there. None of these are hard to crack, really.”
But for McQuarrie, it’s not about the spectacle — it’s about the heart.
“As you start to execute it, you realize the action isn’t what defines these films,” he said. “It’s not the scale or intensity or even the choreography. It’s the emotion. That’s what makes these stories resonate.”
Will McQuarrie Direct the Top Gun Sequel?
As for whether McQuarrie will take over directing duties for the Top Gun threequel — stepping into the role previously held by Joseph Kosinski (Maverick) and the late Tony Scott (the original) — he’s playing it coy.
“I’ve given that absolutely no thought,” he said. “But I have done a lot of research on how to make a Tony Scott movie.”
McQuarrie also touched on another long-rumored project: a Tropic Thunder spinoff centered on Cruise’s unforgettable, foul-mouthed exec, Les Grossman. That idea has been circling since 2022, and according to McQuarrie, it’s still very much alive.
“Everything is a priority — everything will happen in some way,” he said. “It just might not happen how or when you expect. But yeah, we’ve had some hilarious conversations about Les. We’re talking about it seriously, and it all comes down to understanding who that character really is.”
Apparently, McQuarrie and Cruise have been brainstorming ideas between takes on Final Reckoning, just playing around with scenes and scenarios when time allows.
Days of Thunder 2? Yep, That’s On the Table Too
Another legacy sequel getting attention? Days of Thunder. According to McQuarrie, the idea for a sequel came fast.
“I knew the premise in five seconds,” he said. “As soon as I saw the reaction to Top Gun: Maverick, I turned to Tom and said, ‘Days of Thunder.’”
That lines up with what Cruise said earlier this month in an interview with Australia’s Today, confirming development is underway on follow-ups to both Top Gun: Maverick and the 1990 NASCAR drama.
“We’re talking about all kinds of stories, seeing what’s possible,” Cruise said. “It took me 35 years to crack Top Gun: Maverick, so we’re taking our time. But yeah, Days of Thunder and Maverick — we’re working on them.”
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