Miles Teller has made it clear that he’s more than happy to return for Top Gun 3, but only if he gets enough time to prepare his body for the role.
In an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on February 4, the 37-year-old actor joked about the physical demands of the franchise. “I don’t get to greenlight it, I have nothing to do with that,” Teller said. “But I told Tom Cruise, ‘Give me enough time to get in shape. It’s one month per ab. I need a six-month heads up.’”
Teller, who played the role of pilot Rooster in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), further quipped that focusing on one ab at a time is “the only way [he] trains.” The film was the highly successful sequel to the 1986 original, starring Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer.
Behind the Scenes of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Teller also expressed excitement about the fan and creative team enthusiasm surrounding the next movie. He promised to pass along a storyline idea for Top Gun 3 that Colbert had pitched.
For Maverick, Teller underwent intense physical preparation, particularly for the iconic shirtless beach scene. He worked with personal trainer Jason Walsh, who emphasized the rigorous training involved in the role.
“Tom Cruise is a huge advocate for making sure the cast is physically prepared,” Walsh shared with Us Weekly in June 2022. “They were actually in jets, so physical preparation was key. It wasn’t just about getting strong; it was about making sure they could move well and were in top shape.”
Walsh revealed that Teller was very serious about his training and took the program “very professionally.” He explained that Teller’s fitness was a crucial part of achieving the film’s physical demands.
Intense Physical Regimen for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
According to Walsh, preparing for the beach scene included several weeks of conditioning, but Teller was already in excellent shape. “He was ready,” Walsh said. “We followed a program with tracked progress, and nutrition played a huge role in it.”
Teller, in a YouTube video, detailed his diet, which was a key part of his regimen. “For breakfast, I’d have six eggs, then work out, have a shake, and then two lunches,” he explained. “Each lunch would be chicken breast, a full potato, and broccoli.”
Teller added that he also had a snack before finishing his day with dinner, which typically consisted of 20 ounces of fish or steak. Despite the intense eating schedule, he admitted, “That’s really what I didn’t enjoy. It was a lot of food.”
With the possibility of Top Gun 3 on the horizon, Teller’s commitment to his physical preparation seems clear—and it looks like fans can expect another action-packed sequel when the time comes.
