The last several years have seen Lewis Pullman, the son of Bill Pullman, rise to prominence in his own right thanks to movies and TV shows like Bad Times at the El Royale, Catch-22, Outer Range, Lessons in Chemistry and the 2024 movie release Salem’s Lot, which can now be streamed with a Max subscription. So far though, the biggest of these projects has been Top Gun: Maverick, where he played Lt. Robert "Bob" Floyd. The sequel to the 1986 classic was the second highest-grossing movie in 2022 worldwide, and Pullman has now shared his thoughts on reuniting with Tom Cruise as rumors swirl about Top Gun 3.
While promoting Salem’s Lot and discussing other areas of his career, including his turn as another Bob (known in the comics as Sentry) in the upcoming Marvel movie Thunderbolts*, during his appearance on Just for Variety with Marc Malkin, Pullman briefly shared what he knows about where things stand with Top Gun 3, saying:
I wish I knew more. I’m not blowing smoke. I wish I knew more. All I know is the Glen Powell narrative. He’s claiming there is a script. And this has been said since day one, is as long as it’s earned and as long as Tom feels like it continues the story of Maverick in a way that part of the story that needs to be told, then I think it could happen.
Officially speaking, Top Gun 3 isn’t a done deal at Paramount Pictures. Unofficially, Hangman actor Glen Powell said back in July that he had a “date” for the threequel, indicating that he knows when it’s going to begin shooting. Evidently since then, Lewis Pullman has heard through the grapevine that there’s now a Top Gun 3 script too, but no one’s contacted him directly to confirm if this is legit or not.
Regardless, Pullman is confident that so long as Tom Cruise thinks there’s a good reason to do Top Gun 3, i.e. continue the story of Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, then it’ll happen eventually. And while he didn’t come outright and say it, I imagine Pullman would be game to reprise Bob. Now that his profile in Hollywood has gotten even bigger, maybe he could parlay that into his character having a more important role in the next installment… again, assuming it happens.
No doubt Paramount Pictures would like that to happen. Along with its nearly $1.5 billion global box office haul, Top Gun: Maverick was met with critical acclaim from professional reviewers and the general public alike. Again, if Glen Powell is to be believed, the studio has already given the greenlight to the threequel, and it just hasn’t been made official to the public. If he misspoke, then no doubt the powers-that-be at Paramount are doing everything they can to convince Tom Cruise that this is a creative endeavor worth pursuing.
While we wait for more chatter concerning Top Gun 3, remember that Top Gun: Maverick can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription. Now that Salem’s Lot has been released, Lewis Pullman will next be seen in Thunderbolts*, which opens in theaters on May 2, 2025.
