India, April 17 -- Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise may be transforming into a pot-bellied senior in his upcoming film, Digger, but he isn't quite done with charming audiences yet. The famed actor is set to return to one of his most iconic roles - pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in the next instalment of the Top Gun franchise. Paramount Pictures confirmed on Thursday that Top Gun 3 is in development with Tom leading the cast.

The announcement came at Paramount's panel at the ongoing CinemaCon in Las Vegas, an annual week-long summit at which Hollywood studios present their biggest upcoming movies to theatre owners and press. During the presentation, Paramount film co-head Josh Greenstein said Top Gun 3 was "officially in development with a ...