Top Gun 3 is heading towards a release in 2026 accordingly to a fresh report, with Tom Cruise set to take to the skies for filming next year.

We might have had to wait over 30 years for the return of Pete “Maverick’ Mitchell to the return of a fighter plane cockpit but this time around, it looks like the wait will be considerably shorter. World Of Reel is claiming that Joseph Kosinski is lined up to director Top Gun 3 at some point next year. Tom Cruise will of course star, with Glen Powell and Miles Teller expected to return as well.

Powell’s involvement seems like a shoe-in given that he revealed on the HappySadConfused podcast that he’s been given a production date. Of course, these things can change but given that everybody involved will be pulling for this to happen, it’s almost certain that it will.

Both Cruise and Kosinski have faced their fair share of delays on their separate projects of late (Mission: Impossible 8 for Cruise and F1 for Kosinski) but fingers crossed, that seems to be behind them and it looks like both men should be clear to give Top Gun 3 their full attention next year.

One notable side effect of this is the way it is expected to realign Cruise’s slate.

Since signing a deal with Warner Bros earlier this year, Cruise has committed to starring in the next film from The Revenant director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The actor had also lined up a leading role opposite Scarlett Johansson in The Gauntlet, a remake of the Clint Eastwood drama that was due to be helmed by his Mission: Impossible collaborator, Christopher McQuarrie.

However, World Of Reel is now claiming that the latter project is no longer happening. Whether that’s because Top Gun 3 is set to dominate Cruise’s slate, who knows? But if accurate, we have a clearer idea of the order of actor’s next few films given that the Inarritu film is said to be shooting first in early 2025.

There won’t be many out there complaining about the return of Top Gun given that Top Gun Maverick remains one of the most enjoyable blockbusters in recent memory, pulling audiences back into cinemas. Hopefully the follow-up will possess the same magic when it arrives in cinemas, seemingly in the summer of 2026.