Top Gun 3's Biggest Maverick Twist Would Avoid Tom Cruise's $4 Billion Franchise Curse

Summary Top Gun 3 could replace Tom Cruise's beloved character, Maverick, with Miles Teller's Rooster as the new hero.

Mission: Impossible failed to replace Cruise's Ethan Hunt, making Top Gun 3's potential twist unique.

Killing off Maverick may be necessary for the franchise's longevity, as Cruise's presence dominates the series.

While Top Gun 3 may want to steer clear of one risky twist, this surprising reveal would allow the series to do something that Tom Cruise’s other franchise has never managed. For the longest time, it seemed like Top Gun would never spawn a profitable franchise. The original movie was a huge hit in 1986 and became a cult classic in the decades that followed, but its sequel spent an almost unprecedented 30 years in Development Hell before pre-production began in earnest. It was another six years before Top Gun: Maverick arrived, so hopes of the movie spawning another sequel were muted.

However, by Top Gun: Maverick’s triumphant ending, it was clear that Tom Cruise had another huge series on his hands. Inevitably, Top Gun 3 was soon confirmed, although no release date has been announced for the sequel yet. Top Gun: Maverick’s historic box office success proved that Maverick’s lengthy absence from the multiplex didn’t harm his popularity one bit, while the comparative under-performance of 2023’s Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One reaffirmed that the sequel was something special. Top Gun 3’s story could ensure that the series lasts a lot longer, but this will be risky.

Killing Off Maverick Would Let Top Gun Replace Him

Miles Teller’s Rooster Could Become The Franchise’s New Hero

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Top Gun 3 killing off Tom Cruise’s Maverick could allow the series to replace him, something that the actor’s other blockbuster franchise has never managed to pull off. Maverick dying wouldn’t be a huge shock in Top Gun 3, especially after the original movie killed off Goose and Top Gun: Maverick killed off Iceman. These deaths proved that life as a Navy test pilot was risky and that Maverick’s age was catching up with him, two things that will still be true when Top Gun 3 brings Cruise’s antihero back to screens. Furthermore, Maverick isn’t exactly a risk-averse character.

Maverick’s Darkstar test flight was so dangerous that some viewers even hypothesized that he secretly died in Top Gun: Maverick’s opening scene and the remainder of the movie was his dying dream. While this theory is a little extreme, there is no doubt that Maverick’s death would make perfect sense in Top Gun 3. There is no reason for Top Gun 3 to rush into production while Cruise is still making Mission: Impossible sequels, and the character’s death grows more likely the older he gets. Meanwhile, Top Gun 3 already has a perfect Maverick replacement lined up in Miles Teller's Rooster.

Tom Cruise’s Other Major Series Couldn’t Replace Him

Mission: Impossible Failed To Dethrone Ethan Hunt

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If Top Gun 3 does kill off Cruise’s character, this would be the first time that one of the actor’s blockbuster movie franchises has successfully replaced him. Cruise was technically replaced by Alan Ritchson in the role of Jack Reacher, but this only worked because the franchise changed from theatrical movies to an unrelated streaming series. In contrast, when Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol tried to establish Jeremy Renner’s Agent Brandt as a potential replacement for Cruise's Ethan Hunt, this effort ended in failure. Top Gun 3 could avoid this fate by killing off Maverick, something the Mission: Impossible movies never tried.

Killing off Maverick would ensure that Miles Teller’s Rooster could fill his role as the next movie’s protagonist. Much like Top Gun: Maverick’s Iceman death gave Maverick a reason to grow and change, Maverick’s death could be the conduit for Rooster becoming a leader. One of the main reasons that Renner’s Brandt failed to convince as an action hero in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was that Cruise’s Hunt remained a more interesting, dynamic character throughout the sequel. To give Rooster a real shot at headlining the series, Cruise’s character couldn’t remain a presence in the franchise.

Top Gun 3 Can’t Replace Maverick Without Killing Him

Cruise’s Best Franchises Couldn’t Make Him A Supporting Star

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Cruise is a leading man and, as such, Mission: Impossible and Top Gun would both be unable to replace him without killing off his character. Since Top Gun: Maverick gave Maverick a happy ending, Top Gun 3 could always retire the character and see Rooster replace him as a teacher for young recruits. However, it would be hard to get viewers invested in Rooster’s story if Cruise’s Maverick was still around. Maverick is the center of the Top Gun franchise’s universe, with both of the original movies focusing on his character arc.

This means that Top Gun 3 killing off Cruise is the only way to replace Maverick. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the series needs to take this approach. Maverick could remain the star of the series, especially given how enduringly popular the Mission: Impossible movies are. Although the franchise’s most recent outing underperformed financially, the series remains a critical darling. As such, Top Gun 3 may end up keeping Cruise around thanks to his persistent popularity.