Top Gun: Maverick is an action-packed, thrill-ride movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you have not seen it, then do yourself a favor and buy your tickets today. The experience is even better when viewed on the biggest screen possible; IMAX is highly recommended. This is an amazing movie and a rare occasion when a sequel may actually be better than the original.
Maverick surpassed expectations, earning $160.5 million during its opening weekend and becoming the highest-grossing Memorial Day weekend box office opening of all time. Not only is this Tom Cruise's biggest debut at the box office over his 40-year career, but the sequel is on track to becoming Cruise’s first movie to surpass $1 billion at the box office.
While we wait for technology to catch-up enough to film flight scenes that will literally knock our socks off in a theater, it’s time for Disney (who acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019) to pick up the gauntlet and release Hot Shots 3.
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Hot Shots! was a 1991 parody of the original Top Gun (1986) movie. It starred Charlie Sheen as Topper Harley, the comedic equivalent to Maverick. A sequel, Hot Shots! Part Deux, was released in 1993 with Sheen reprising his role.
Jon Cryer, who played Jim “Wash-Out" Pfaffenbach in the original Hot Shots! movie, recently posted on Twitter: “Just saw Top Gun: Maverick. Think it's time to reunite with Sheen for Hot Shots: Part Tres." https://bleedingcool.com/movies/hot-shots-jon-cryer-pitches-part-tres-after-seeing-top-gun-maverick
Sheen, who was once the star of TV's #1 comedy ("Two and a Half Men"), is mostly known for his hilarious and downright bizarre comments that he made when leaving the series. Whether or not he would return to the Hot Shots! franchise is a mystery that only he can answer. But with the success of Top Gun: Maverick, there could be a lot of money made by both Sheen and Disney if a third Hot Shots! was made.
Unlike the eternally-young Tom Cruise, Sheen is starting to show his age and it won’t be long before he can double as his father, Martin Sheen. If he wants to look like the chick-magnet Topper Harley, then he will want to move on this opportunity sooner than later.
Hot
Shots! (1991)
Director: Jim Abrahams
Writers: Jim Abrahams, Pat Proft
Stars: Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Jon Cryer, Jerry Haleva
Summary: Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) returns to active duty as a pilot in the U.S. Navy for a top-secret mission, known as Operation Sleepy Weasel, commanded by the senile and accident-prone Admiral Tug Benson (Lloyd Bridges).
Twenty years earlier, his pilot father [Buzz Harley] lost control of the plane that he was flying. Although he safely ejected, his co-pilot [Mailman Farnham] crashed and was then shot by a hunter who mistook him for a deer. Haunted by his father’s legacy, Topper experiences intense psychological problems; especially when his father is mentioned.
His therapist, Ramada Thompson (Valeria Golino), tries to stop Topper from flying. But as she begins to fall in love with him, she eventually gives in. Meanwhile, Topper gets into a feud with another fighter pilot, Kent Gregory (Cary Elwes). Kent is the ex-boyfriend of Ramada and the son of Mailman. He blames Buzz for his father's death and believes that Topper is a danger to the rest of the team.
Lt. Commander Block (Kevin Dunn) has been secretly meeting with Mr. Wilson, an airplane tycoon, who has built a new "Super Fighter" that he wants to sell to the Navy. It is revealed that he brought back Topper for the sole purpose of making Sleepy Weasel fail, so that they will need to replace the current planes with Wilson's planes. During a recent training mission, an accident causes the death of "Dead Meat" Thompson and the demotion of “Wash-Out" Pfaffenbach (Jon Cryer) to radar operator.
As Topper leads the mission to attack an Iraqi nuclear plant ran by Saddam Hussein (Jerry Haleva), he must overcome his father’s legacy to complete the mission and inspire his team members.
The film is primarily a parody of Top Gun (1986). However, some scenes spoof other popular films such as 9½ Weeks, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Dances with Wolves, Marathon Man, Rocky, Superman, and Gone with the Wind.
Hot
Shots! Part Deux (1993)
Director: Jim Abrahams
Writers: Jim Abrahams, Pat Proft
Stars: Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Richard Crenna, Jerry Haleva
Summary: Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) has retired from the U.S. Navy and now lives as a reclusive Buddhist in a small Thai village. One day Colonel Denton Walters (Richard Crenna) and CIA agent Michelle Huddleston (Brenda Bakke) arrive at the village asking Topper to lead a rescue team for a group of American soldiers captured by Saddam Hussein. President Tug Benson (Lloyd Bridges) suspects a mole is providing information to the Iraqi dictator, as all of their attempts have been foiled.
After Topper initially refuses, Walters leads a rescue team and is subsequently captured. Topper changes his mind and leads a small group of soldiers into Iraq; including Harbinger, Williams, and Rabinowitz.
The group parachutes into a jungle near the hostage camp and meet their contact, who turns out to be Topper's ex-girlfriend, Ramada. As they move towards the camp, she explains that her husband, Dexter, is a prisoner in Iraq. She found out that Dexter was still alive right before she was going to elope with Topper. When Ramada never showed up, a broken-hearted Topper retired from the Navy.
After a battle on the river with an Iraqi patrol boat, rumors spread that the team has been destroyed. When President Benson hears of the apparent demise of another mission, he decides to join the fight in Iraq. As Topper’s team arrives at the Iraqi hostage camp, he must overcome his broken-heart to complete the mission and find the mole.
Hot Shots! Ménage à Trois (2023)
Director: TBD
Writers: TBD
Stars: Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Jon Cryer, Cary Elwes, Beck Bennett
Summary: Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) is back for an all-new adventure. He has spent the last thirty years as a test pilot for advanced technology at Area 51. After crash landing a top-secret prototype into the Cuyahoga River [Ohio], the United States is having a PR nightmare keeping the classified project hidden from the public. He narrowly avoids Leavenworth, the military correctional facility, when Admiral Kent Gregory (Cary Elwes) offers him the chance to train a group of young aviators for a specialized mission.
The urgent mission is to bomb an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant, ran by Russian president Vladimir Putin (Beck Bennett). The elite group of aviators have been assembled by the no-nonsense Vice Admiral Frida "Giggles" Martinez (Jennifer Lopez).
Some of these young aviators already have a past history with each other. First there is Lieutenant Jamie "Bug Eyes" Pfaffenbach (Jon Cryer), the daughter of Jim "Wash Out" Pfaffenbach (Jon Cryer), who holds Topper responsible for her father’s mental breakdown. Secondly there is Buck “Flatulance” Thompson (Angus T. Jones), the son of Pete "Dead Meat" Thompson, who harbors hate for “Wash Out” killing his father.
To make matters worse, FBI agent Vivica Bradshaw (Jennifer Aniston) is still investigating the prototype crash. But things may spiral out of control when Topper develops romantic feelings for both Bradshaw and Martinez. As Topper’s team begins their mission, he may have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save them all.
The film would primarily be a spoof of Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and Sully (2016). However, other popular films that should be included are: Flight, Pearl Harbor, The Notebook, Fast & Furious franchise, and more.
