With the success of Top Gun: Maverick, conversations about a third entry in the franchise are naturally happening on many fronts. While there were a fair share of skeptics unconvinced the return of Top Gun would prove successful, the long-delayed film ultimately delivered on all fronts, and audiences are craving more. The idea of sitting in a cockpit to perform under duress may seem more and more appealing to the 60-year-old Tom Cruise, whose Mission Impossible stunts, while impressive, may be nearing an inevitable conclusion.
Top Gun could be a natural way to ease off bodily demands. Considering the state of CGI and the popularity of face-swapping technology, Cruise probably doesn't really need to work another day in his life. There appears to be an army of impersonators refining their Tom Cruise imitations to an absurd degree. Maybe now that Nicolas Cage embraced the bizarre internet fixation on him by the masses with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the irony is no longer fresh, and the viral focus has shifted to Tom Cruise. If Cruise were to embrace the phenomenon, he could star in a new theatrical movie every weekend, spanning different eras of his cinematic presence from the '80s onward. Although that would likely be the over-saturation that places him in every medium-budget thriller, there are worse fates.
With no shortage of enemies traversing the planet's atmosphere, Top Gun plots could range anywhere from foreign aerial threats to space aliens. While it is unlikely Paramount would approve of the brand suddenly becoming a sci-fi extravaganza, the Church of Scientology may be totally into it. Arguably leaning a bit more conservative with its audience and appeal, Top Gun could go in unlikely directions with the right creative leads and interest from Tom Cruise.
Let's take a look at some reasons why the sky is the limit when it comes to continuing the Top Gun franchise.
Balancing Politics
Top Gun Maverick's most interesting response may be in the political realm, where left and right-leaning journalists struggle to determine who the film is for. If more sequels are to be released, the balancing act may prove difficult to maintain. Regardless, the draw of the franchise is clearly the spectacle of F-14s and MiG-28 fighter jets performing mind-blowing stunts captured beautifully on film.
Nevertheless, our highly polarized culture is quick to latch onto the undercurrent of any politically fueled concept, and Top Gun is a prime target for espousing one's patriotic beliefs or lack thereof. Similar to the original, the latest film doesn't reveal the country they're up against during their top secret mission, although some conclude it to be Iran based on topographical hints in the film. Sequels would be poised to construct a similar ambiguous enemy, though a third film would likely take cues from that one country who decided to invade their neighbor this year.
Should the formula evolve, it's possible filmmakers may decide that revealing the enemy's motive injects a necessary level of conflict. The result may end up feeling a bit like a hybrid of Mission Impossible and Top Gun.
New Theatrical Gimmicks
For anyone lucky enough to have experienced Top Gun: Maverick in MX4D, theaters enhanced to be like amusement park rides, the future of Top Gun sequels and blockbuster films, in general, is looking exceptionally bright. With moving seats, lighting effects above your head, jolts from behind, and even special odors to enhance the atmosphere of the theater during key scenes, the gimmicks work.
As word spreads about this extra sensory experience accompanying major studio films, fans are going to seek out the complete package. If the concept continues to gain momentum, we can expect more custom features to be woven into the theatrical experience as innovation and ingenuity compete with the overbearing amount of media options available to consumers.
Press tours may also evolve to include a larger and more intimate reach with stars and talent involved showing up in less populated cities to essentially tour with certain films, creating a new kind of draw for fans to leave the comfort of their homes to experience movies on the big screen. With the success of Top Gun Maverick, studios are surely taking note and formulating plans on how to evolve cinematic consumption for modern audiences.
While navigating to your movie of choice on a streaming subscription platform may present the path of least resistance, if moviegoers hear about Tom Cruise taking selfies with fans on opening night at their local cineplex, they may find the motivation to exit their home for the evening. If it turns out to be just a face-swapping app where Tom Cruise's likeness is placed onto you or your uncle's head, it'll still make for quite a splash on your social media feed.