A.V. Opinions: It’s time for another Hot Shots movie
With The Naked Gun reboot recently hitting theaters, Scary Movie coming out next year and Spaceballs going into production, I can’t help but ask: where is my new Hot Shots! movie? If the spoof genre is really making a comeback, then now is the perfect moment to dust off Topper Harley and send him back into action.
Charlie Sheen has been on something of a career resurrection tour lately, which only makes the idea more appealing. He made the role of Topper Harley iconic in the first two films, and there’s so much untapped potential for a third. Imagine a film that spoofs Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible. Maybe since we last saw him, Harley has somehow become President of the United States, only to be dragged into one final mission because America literally has no one else who can save the day. Picture the Commander-in-Chief climbing into a fighter jet while juggling nuclear codes and a cup of coffee. Or, if that’s too wild, simply give Harley the Tom Cruise treatment and bring him back the same way Maverick returned, older, stubborn, but still somehow the only man for the job.
Even the titles practically write themselves. Hot Shots! Part Three could be called Part Tree for the pun value, or maybe Hot Shots! Cubed to lean into the ridiculous math-based sequel trend. If Hollywood wanted to double down on parody, they could go with Hot Shots! Maverick Reloaded, spoofing both Top Gun and The Matrix. And for modern audiences, there’s always Hotter Shots: For a New Generation, a rebootquel that pokes fun at Hollywood’s obsession with passing the torch.
No matter what direction it takes, the world feels ready for another dose of Hot Shots!. The genre has been dormant for too long, and the timing couldn’t be better. With Sheen ready to step back into the spotlight and audiences hungry for both nostalgia and comedy, this feels like the perfect storm.
It’s been over thirty years since Hot Shots! Part Deux hit theaters. Isn’t it time we finally gave Topper Harley one more mission?
-Brad McBoom