Tom Cruise returning to theaters for Top Gun 3

Top Gun: Maverick co-writer Ehren Kruger has officially started work on the third installment of everyone’s naval aviator film series, according to Puck. With a script underway, Top Gun fans eagerly await the film’s release date.

Part two of the series saw navy pilot Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) return to Top Gun as a mentor for the program's elite graduates, among them Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw (Miles Teller) and Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin (Glen Powell). Kruger will potentially reunite the iconic navy trio in the series’ third segment.

The exciting announcement comes amidst news of big negotiations over Cruise’s career. Earlier this week, the action star signed a non-exclusive deal with Warner Bros. to develop original movies and franchises for the studio.

The agreement protects Cruise’s right to work for other industry rivals like Paramount, which still holds the rights to both Top Gun and the Mission Impossible series, Cruise’s two largest grossing projects to date.