It’s been nearly two decades since the sequel to “National Treasure” was released — and after years of rumors and speculation, it appears that a third film in the series might finally be in the works.
Will there be a new ‘National Treasure’ movie?
Director Jon Turteltaub broke the news on Friday during a live taping of the “National Treasure Hunt” podcast in Philadelphia, calling “National Treasure 3″ “Hollywood real,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“It’s happening,” Turteltaub said, per The Hollywood Reporter. “You’re the first people I’ve said this out loud to. I have not said anything before this, but you deserve to have the scoop. It’s finally real. Now, it’s ‘Hollywood real,’ meaning things could happen. Nic (Cage) gets hit by a bus, there’s no ‘National Treasure 3.’ If I get hit by a bus, there’s probably a ‘National Treasure 3.’ Welcome to Hollywood.”
The first “National Treasure” movie, starring Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger and Justin Bartha as a group that becomes involved in stealing the Declaration of Independence in order to find a treasure hidden by Freemasons, was released in 2004, with a sequel, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” following in 2007. A one-season Disney+ series, “Edge of History,” starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, came out in 2022.
Turteltaub said that a screenplay for the third movie has already been written and approved by Disney, according to Entertainment Weekly, adding that “to whatever extent we can, everyone’s back.”
The Hollywood Reporter noted that it reached out to Disney and Disney declined to comment.
Why hasn’t there been a third ‘National Treasure’ before now?
A third film has been a top of discussion for a long time. In 2018, Turteltaub talked during an interview with Collider about why he believed that the movie was never made.
“It’s really that Disney feels they have other films they want to make that they think will make them more money,” Turteltaub said, as the Deseret News previously reported. “I think they’re wrong. I think they’re right about the movies they’re making; they’re obviously doing a really good job at making great films. I just think this would be one of them, and they don’t quite realize how much the internet is begging for a third ‘National Treasure.’”
Cage spoke about the possibility of “National Treasure 3″ as recently as 2024, telling Screen Rant in an interview, “No, there is no ‘National Treasure 3.’ If you want to find treasure, don’t look at Disney, okay? It’s not there.”