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Tom Cruise will be returning for one of his most iconic roles, United States Navy Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, for the third instalment of Top Gun. At CinemaCon held in Las Vegas, Paramount Pictures officially announced that Top Gun 3 is in works in Tom Cruise leading the cast. Here are some more deets:

Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, TC Productions, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise is not hanging his Captain Pete Mitchell uniform anytime soon. On Thursday, Paramount Pictures officially confirmed that Top Gun 3, the third film in the Top Gun franchise, is currently in development with Cruise in the lead.

The announcement was made at Paramount's panel at the ongoing CinemaCon in Las Vegas, a week-long summit at which major film studios present their most ambitious upcoming movies to media and other attendees.

During the presentation, Paramount Productions co-head Josh Greenstein said, “Top Gun 3 was officially in development with a script well underway.”

He added that Cruise would be returning to headline the franchise as the famed Captain Pete Mitchell, along with producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Top Gun 3 comes four years after Top Gun: Maverick. Tom Cruise returned for the 2022 film 36 years after the original came out.

Top Gun: Maverick became a blockbuster hit when theatres were still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Made on a budget of $170 million, the film revived movie theatre business, giving it the jolt it needed during the crisis.

Top Gun: Maverick grossed over $1.5 billion at the box office worldwide from a $170 million budget, giving movie theatres the jolt they needed when times were tough.

The first film, Top Gun, came in 1986 starring Cruise as young naval aviator Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell aboard USS Enterprise. He and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (played by Anthony Edwards), are given the chance to train at the United States Navy's Fighter Weapons School, also known as Top Gun. Top Gun became the highest-grossing film of 1986 worldwide.

Its sequel Top Gun: Maverickreleased in 2022, marking Cruise’s return after 36 years. In the second film, he returns to train a new generation of pilots.

Alongside Cruise, the 2022 film also starred Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Monica Barbaro, Danny Ramirez, Jay Ellis, Greg Tarzan Davis and Manny Jacinto who played new pilots. It also marked the final film role for Cruise’s Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer, who played Tom “Iceman” Kazansky.

Social and lead images credits: Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, TC Productions, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films