Lately, the internet has been subject to some chatter around whose hand will find itself at the wheel (or perhaps more appropriately at the yoke) of the third instalment in the “Top Gun” series. Rumours have suggested that amongst the names being considered are John M. Chu (“Wicked”), Joachim Rønning (“Tron: Ares”), and Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah (“Bad Boys: Ride or Die”), to which I say: Absolutely not! And here is a list of filmmakers that I believe could make a more suitable replacement for the departing Joseph Kosinski.
10. Lee Isaac Chung
Following the huge critical success of his breakout feature “Minari,” Lee Isaac Chung proved to Hollywood that he knew how to handle a blockbuster with the Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones-starring “Twisters” back in 2024. The film’s huge $372,262,265 box office intake made it one of the year’s standout success stories and placed Chung amongst the most exciting young filmmakers working today – demonstrating to studios all across the country that he could be trusted with productions of such a scale. And with Chung recently exiting the Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie-starring Oceans prequel, his schedule just so happens to have cleared up.
9. James Mangold
Director James Mangold’s career has taken him to many different places. From the psychological thriller “Girl Interrupted,” to the world of 20th-century folk music in “Walk the Line” and “A Complete Unknown,” to even the land of Marvel Studios with its duology of Wolverine movies. But it’s his work on the 2019 blockbuster “Ford V Ferrari” that makes him such an intriguing prospect as captain of the latest “Top Gun” expedition. With the speedy cinematic spectacle, with a character-driven narrative at heart, sounding and looking an awful lot like what we’ve come to expect from the Tom Cruise-anchored series. A proven track record for high-octane thrills, a history of working with Cruise on the movie “Knight and Day,” and a pre-existing deal in place with Paramount place Mangold pretty high up the pecking order. If I were a betting man, he might just be where my money was.
8. Rian Johnson
“Last Jedi” defenders; RISE! We’ve got another legacy IP blockbuster for Rian Johnson to conquer. Johnson has committed the past seven years of his career to his beloved “Knives Out” series, and for as fun and successful as those have been, it might just be time for a break. What better opportunity to do so than with a new blockbuster in need of a director as skilled and as proven as Johnson, just shy of a decade on from his hugely controversial but undeniably striking instalment into the “Star Wars” franchise, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Johnson proved with “The Last Jedi” that he wasn’t afraid to take swings bigger than anybody else working today, pushing the boundaries of what was possible to achieve with studio filmmaking and handling major IP – and what better way to justify the return of the “Top Gun” series than with a swing no one expects.
7. J.J. Abrams
A frequent Cruise collaborator – producing three of the “Mission: Impossible” movies and even writing and directing another – J.J. Abrams could look to shake himself free from the dust of “The Rise of Skywalker” and rebuild his reputation as a filmmaker who can handle the weight of expectation. This feels especially possible given the latest updates around the Abrams-led film and television production company, Bad Robot, with the company’s downsizing reportedly serving as a gateway for Abrams to return to his filmmaking roots on a more consistent basis.
Abrams, as we know, has a mixed history as a filmmaker. You just never know what you’re gonna get. But one thing that has persisted, even in his deepest, darkest, far, far away moments, he’s brought a level of visual flair and Spielbergian-like spectacle that provides moments of undeniable magic. Let’s see how his next flick, “The Great Beyond,” pans out. But I wouldn’t write Abrams off as a filmmaker just yet.
6. Michael Bay
HEAR. ME. OUT.
Look, I know those last few “Transformers” movies were tough, BUT DID YOU SEE “AMBULANCE”? The action, the tempo, the drone shots, the drone shots, THE DRONE SHOTS. I MEAN, COME ON. Who doesn’t wanna see Michael Bay’s version of “Top Gun”? Cruise’s Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell front and centre of a throwback-to-the-00s blockbuster with explosions and Linkin Park needle drops. Ugh. I’m salivating just typing. Give it to me now.
5. Doug Liman
Or, we could play it safe. I’m sure Doug Liman – a two-time Cruise director (“Edge of Tomorrow,” “American Made”) – is available, and would do a fine job too. At his best (“Edge of Tomorrow,” “The Bourne Identity,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”), Liman’s a great popcorn filmmaker. Action, thrills, sometimes even sex – he ticks the boxes. At his worst (“Road House,” “Chaos Walking,” “Locked Down”), he’s a little silly, quite uninteresting, and in the case of “Locked Down,” flat-out dumb. If any day now, reports begin to circle sometime soon that Liman’s in line to finish his hat-trick of Cruise collabs, let’s hope for the former, and just try to remember he made “Edge of Tomorrow.” That was a good one.
4. Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow has dedicated much of her time in the 21st century to making movies exploring America’s military expeditions, so what’s one more? In 2010, Bigelow made history by becoming the first woman to win Best Director at the Academy Awards for her direction on that year’s Best Picture winner, “The Hurt Locker” – a movie that focused on the United States’ involvement in the Iraq War. Since then, she’s made a commitment to making nothing but movies that place America at the centre of the universe as our flawed, but necessary leader, who must protect us from the evils of the world.
Gone is the filmmaker who made “Strange Days,” “Near Dark,” and “Point Break,” to be replaced by somebody interested in nothing but self-serious Oscar bait. So why not put that interest to good use and utilise Bigelow’s clear talent and eye for scale to give “Top Gun 3” a feminine touch? Allowing her to dig further into the idea of American greatness, I guess? But at least she’d be doing so in a more digestible and entertaining manner.
3. Cary Joji Fukunaga
Best known for directing the finale of the Daniel Craig James Bond series, “No Time to Die,” Cary Joji Fukunaga, much like Lee Isaac Chung, is a filmmaker who feels on the precipice of exploding as a blockbuster mainstay. With his most recent work on the four episodes he directed of the Apple TV+ series, “Masters of the Air,” solidifying what we thought we knew about him after “No Time to Die”: This guy’s got the goods. Fukunaga’s history of piloting an air-oriented TV series could well put him in good standing for a seamless transition into Cruise’s cockpit, and with the box office success of his 007 effort, this feels like a safe bet for Paramount.
2. Christopher McQuarrie
Yeah, I mean, this feels obvious, right?
Christopher McQuarrie, Cruise’s most frequent collaborator across his career, has formed an association with the “Top Gun” star akin to that of some of the great working partnerships this medium has ever seen. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart — Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise belong in the same conversation. From every Mission: Impossible film since “Ghost Protocol” to “Jack Reacher,” along with McQuarrie’s writing credits on “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Valkyrie,” “The Mummy,” and especially “Top Gun: Maverick,” their collaboration has evolved into one of modern Hollywood’s defining creative partnerships.
So why, with McQuarrie so frequently by Cruise’s side, and even having an involvement in the film’s predecessor, does this not feel nailed on? Well, the final two chapters of the “Mission: Impossible” story didn’t quite play out the way anyone had hoped – critically or financially – leading to some thoughts that perhaps the two are in need of a break from one another. McQuarrie looks to be rather busy too, with his name attached to a “Conan the Barbarian” reboot as well as an adaptation of the “Battlefield” video game franchise, with Michael B. Jordan set to produce and potentially star.
Nonetheless, McQuarrie feels like a natural fit as Paramount could find, with a familiarity and stake in the story as well as a proven history of successful Cruise collaborations. This one’s a no-brainer if McQuarrie is indeed interested.
1. Tom Cruise
Yep, that’s right. Wasn’t expecting that, were you? But bear with me.
Look, we all know how intrinsically linked Cruise is with the filmmaking process of his movies – and other movies too, apparently (see his work as a camera operator on “Star Wars: Starfighter” circa May,2027) – so why not take the wheel himself? Who understands the filmmaking process better than Mr. Movies, with years of practical filmmaking experience learning from some of the finest we’ve seen pick up a camera – Spielberg, Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Michael Mann, the list goes on.
This is a long shot, no doubt, but if the hunt for a director for “Top Gun 3” lands on the doorstep of Tom Cruise himself, I’d argue there’s no one more qualified.
