Cruise has several exciting movies in development, but Days of Thunder 2 feels like one that’s snuck under the radar.

While Cruise’s best films, but then again, neither was Top Gun.

Top Gun 3 Isn't Easy After Top Gun: Maverick

The Action Sequel Has Some Major Shoes To Fill

Top Gun: Maverick was such a resounding success that it’s going to be very difficult for Top Gun 3 to live up to the same expectations. Not only did the previous movie break box office records and become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, but it was also a huge critical success that currently has 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. While it’s unfair to hold the sequel to the same standards, this pressure is going to be looming over the project throughout its development.

Thankfully, there are still plenty of ways that Top Gun 3 can be just as great as the movie that preceded it. As long as Cruise and Joseph Kosinski maintain the same high-speed, character-driven storytelling that made Maverick so brilliant, pushing the genre forward with creative action scenes and bold new filming techniques, it’s hard to imagine the movie being a failure. Audiences are already invested in Pete Mitchell’s story, and the third installment will likely serve as a conclusion to this character’s journey.

This means that Top Gun 3 also bears the responsibility of ing Maverick’s torch on to another of the cadets — most likely Miles Teller’s Rooster or Glen Powell’s Hangman. This can’t be an easy decision, but it does mean that Top Gun can continue with another lead character at the helm. There’s going to be lots of pressure on the third installment to get this transition right, and that’s going to take a long time to perfect. Cruise and Kosinski will need to fully understand this major decision before starting production on the sequel.

Days Of Thunder 2 Could Elevate Things Like Top Gun: Maverick Did

The Sequel Can Retroactively Make The First Movie Better

For most audiences, the main draw of Top Gun: Maverick was the huge advances in technology, storytelling, and character work in comparison to the original. While Tony Scott’s Top Gun was never considered a bad film, it wasn’t praised as a masterpiece either; yet, the sequel managed to retroactively improve it. Where the original film’s characters were quite thin and predictable, Maverick’s are layered with rich emotional depth. The action scenes are also a huge improvement over the first movie, employing whole new methods of filming to capture that high-octane atmosphere.

If Days of Thunder 2 really does happen, it could achieve a very similar feat. The original movie certainly has its dedicated fanbase, but it’s rarely considered a “classic” within its genre. The film sits at just 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s often criticized for the same things as Top Gun. It has predictable storytelling and two-dimensional characters. This means that it’s prime territory for a modern upgrade, and Top Gun: Maverick has already established the formula to make that happen.

What Could Happen In Days Of Thunder 2

The Sequel Could Give Cruise's Protagonist The Pete Mitchell Treatment

Incidentally, Days of Thunder 2 could follow a very similar story as Top Gun: Maverick. The original movie follows Cruise’s protagonist, Cole Trickle, as he reckons with his own ambition and arrogance to overcome a rivalry with another talented racer on the track. It’s very similar to Pete’s story in the original Top Gun, which has led to the two films being constantly compared with each other over the years. This means that Days of Thunder 2 has a very clear path to success; it must humanize Cruise’s protagonist and give him a new weight of responsibility.

Much of the reason that Maverick is such a brilliant sequel is that it takes all the arrogance and cockiness of Top Gun’s Pete Mitchell and develops that into a more responsible, weighted sense of independence for him to down to the next generation. This is exactly what the Days of Thunder sequel must do.

The flaws of the original movies are not reasons to preemptively condemn the sequel, especially when Maverick turned out to be such a resounding improvement on the source material.

Although many people are skeptical about Days of Thunder 2, the same could have been said about Top Gun: Maverick, and that turned out perfectly. The flaws of the original movies are not reasons to preemptively condemn the sequel, especially when Maverick turned out to be such a resounding improvement on the source material.

Which Tom Cruise Sequel Is Likely To Happen First?

The Actor Has Several Projects In Development

Ultimately, there’s been very little update on the Days of Future sequel since it was announced in 2024. During the press tour for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, Cruise confirmed that he was having “discussions” about the project, but nothing concrete was said about filming dates or casting announcements. This means it could be several years before audiences get to experience Days of Thunder 2, whereas Top Gun 3 feels like a much more tangible project that’s just over the horizon.

Top Gun 3 is much richer territory for updates and announcements, which means it’s probably Cruise’s priority at the moment alongside other original projects, including his collaboration with Alejandro González Iñárritu. Among the most recent confirmations is Kosinski’s return to Top Gun 3, which is a huge step forward in the movie’s production. This makes sense, as the studio likely wants to capitalize on the lingering success of Top Gun: Maverick instead of playing a bigger risk like Days of Thunder 2.