How Top Gun 2 could lead to Legally Blonde 3

Top Gun 2 was a smash hit, leading to the potential for a third film. But not a sequel for Top Gun – a threequel to Legally Blonde.

Oh my God, you guys! Grab your pink power suits, because Legally Blonde 3 is on the way, and it’s largely thanks to Top Gun: Maverick.

The 20-year-old Legally Blonde franchise has had its ups and downs. While the first film is considered a classic, with even a musical being developed from it, the sequel wasn’t received as favourably, and is largely ignored, making Legally Blonde 3 somewhat of a hard sell.

But since the film is currently in the development stage, the upcoming law-based comedy is looking to the hugely successful Top Gun sequel for guidance, according to star Reese Witherspoon.

Top Gun 2 will guide Legally Blonde 3

In an interview with USA Today, Witherspoon stated that the threequel, which would follow the exploits of Elle Woods, a rich girly blonde woman as she makes her way through those who underestimate her in the courtroom, was largely drawing inspiration from Top Gun: Maverick in the film’s writers room.

Mainly, the idea that a sequel to a film coming out decades later can still be successful may be somewhat daunting, so Witherspoon is hoping that by following Top Gun, Legally Blonde will manage to pull it off.

The actor stated: “I’m still hoping that Legally Blonde 3 is gonna come together in the right way. It’s just like Top Gun; they waited a long time to make another version of that movie, and I loved the nostalgia piece they incorporated in it.

“So definitely that gave us a lot of inspiration about what we would want to do with Elle Woods and make sure that we had all those same touchstones that mattered to people then.”

Nostalgia will play a large part in Legally Blonde 3

The script for Legally Blonde 3, which will be written by The Office’s Mindy Kaling, will take note of the large passage of time between the sequel and threequel.

A large part of this will include having nostalgic call-backs to the previous films, without being too cheesy or fan-servicey, which was a needle that Top Gun: Maverick managed to thread.

Witherspoon’s comments suggest that franchise cameos will be happening in the third film. It’s possible that Selma Blair will be brought back in a similar way that Val Kilmer was for Top Gun, and both actors suffer from career-altering ailments.

If emulating a film to create a nostalgic impact is the aim, taking inspiration from Top Gun 2 isn’t a bad way to go. Fans of Legally Blonde can only hope that it will have the same level of success.