Although Glen Powell’s success since Top Gun: Maverick’s release makes one Top Gun 3 story more likely, that doesn’t mean the series should take this route. By the time Top Gun: Maverick’s ending rolled around, it was obvious that its sequel would have its work cut out for it. It took Top Gun: Maverick 36 years to reach cinema screens, yet the much-delayed sequel turned out to be more than worth the wait despite the odds. Top Gun: Maverick deepened the story of Maverick, spotlighting one of star Tom Cruise’s best performances in the process.
As an older, wiser Maverick, Cruise was equal parts charismatic and tragic. His final Top Gun: Maverick scene with the late Val Kilmer managed to be a highlight of the entire high-flying franchise even though it was a brief conversation that took place entirely indoors. That Kilmer and Cruise’s repartee outshone the high-octane action set-pieces proves just how much the sequel prioritized character development over pure spectacle. Critics agreed that this was the right choice, with Top Gun: Maverick outdoing the original movie both critically and commercially.
Maverick Could Retire In Top Gun 3 (Thanks to Glen Powell’s Hangman)
Powell Could Replace Cruise As The Face of the Franchise
The only issue with Top Gun: Maverick’s self-contained story was that the movie made it hard to tell what Top Gun 3’s story could possibly be. The original movie left a lot of story elements open-ended, and Top Gun: Maverick used the long wait between sequels to make these details tragic. Maverick’s seemingly promising romance with Charlie ended off-screen at some unspecified point, his career in the Navy stalled thanks to his infamous need for speed and his distaste for authority, and he never really got over the death of Goose and his guilt over the accident.
The problem is that all three of these unfinished stories were neatly wrapped up in Top Gun: Maverick’s ending. By the time the sequel ended, Maverick was in a happy romantic relationship with Penny, he had gotten over his guilt over Goose’s death by saving his former wingman’s son Rooster from certain death, and he finally had the respect and recognition of the Navy’s top brᴀss. Maverick’s story seemingly has nowhere to go after Top Gun: Maverick, unless the aging character retires from the Navy and becomes a mentor to new pilots.
This might seem like a major demotion for Cruise’s Maverick, who has always lived up to his name with his risky flying. However, Top Gun: Maverick supporting star Glen Powell’s rapid ascent to the A-list since the sequel’s release makes this twist much more likely. After the success of 2024’s blockbuster reboot Twisters, Powell could replace Cruise as the face of the franchise in Top Gun 3. His cocksure but undeniably charming character, Hangman, was a thorn in the side of Rooster and Maverick throughout the sequel but ended up stealing the finale by eventually saving them.
Retiring Maverick Could End His Top Gun Story Perfectly
Top Gun: Maverick Left Maverick With A Happy Family
Powell’s Hangman taking over from Maverick as the franchise’s main character might sound like a surprising twist, but it makes a lot of sense from some angles. Powell’s career has gone from strength to strength since Top Gun: Maverick’s release, with his 2023 rom-com Anyone But You earning a staggering $220 million on a budget of only $25 million, while Twisters became a $370 million hit in the summer of 2024.
Powell’s next movie will be Edgar Wright’s adaptation of Stephen King’s satirical dystopian sci-fi story The Running Man, another likely hit. Powell’s post-Top Gun: Maverick career success is well-earned, arriving after over a decade of supporting roles in both major and minor movies and shows. The actor also earned critical acclaim for his central turn in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, a Netflix success that Powell co-wrote.
Maverick transitioning to a teaching job full-time would be a humbling challenge for Cruise’s character that would force him to face his aging, his mortality, and his legacy.
In terms of story, Maverick retiring in Top Gun 3 and becoming a full-time teacher to the next generation of pilots would technically be very satisfying. After all, Maverick’s role in the earlier Top Gun movies was defined by his rebellious, feckless atтιтude, and it was already intriguing to see him try his hand at teaching in Top Gun: Maverick. Maverick transitioning to this job full-time would be a humbling challenge for Cruise’s character that would force him to face his aging, his mortality, and his legacy.
Top Gun 3 Is More Likely To Retire Maverick With Two Replacements
Miles Teller’s Rooster Was Already Positioned To Replace Cruise
However, the failure of Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski’s underrated follow-up Spiderhead explains why Top Gun 3 wasn’t necessarily certain to take this route. Miles Teller is great as Top Gun: Maverick’s Rooster and, since his breakout roles in 2013’s The Spectacular Now and 2014’s Whiplash, the actor has often impressed critics. However, his career was defined by box office failures in the years running up to Top Gun: Maverick’s release.
2015’s Fantastic Four, 2016’s The Divergent Series: Allegiant and Bleed For This, and 2017’s Only The Brave and Thank You For Your Service were all box office failures. Teller’s only major release since Top Gun: Maverick was 2025’s The Gorge which, while moderately successful with critics, went straight to streaming on Apple TV. Thus, Top Gun 3 could be more likely to replace Cruise with Powell than Teller, since he has proven a more consistent box office draw.
The aviation drama Devotion had a lot in common with Top Gun: Maverick, but it bombed at the box office despite solid reviews
Even this would be a risky proposition since Powell’s biggest flop came only a few months after Top Gun: Maverick. The aviation drama Devotion had a lot in common with Top Gun: Maverick, but it bombed at the box office despite solid reviews. This means that both potential replacements for Maverick have uncertain box office histories, but Powell’s track record makes him a much safer bet.
Top Gun 3 Shouldn’t Retire Maverick Despite Powell’s Success
The Top Gun Franchise Is About Tom Cruise’s Character
Even if Powell’s box office record didn’t have one unfortunate outlier, it would be tough to justify sidelining Maverick in Top Gun 3. Cruise’s character can’t just transition to being an Iceman figure because Top Gun has never been a franchise about planes or the flight school, but rather his individual character arc. This doesn’t mean that the series won’t retire him to a less active role, but it does mean that this twist would be tough to pull off successfully. Even after Top Gun: Maverick’s ending, it is hard to imagine Top Gun 3 centering on anyone other than Cruise’s lead character.
