Director Jon Turteltaub has confirmed that “National Treasure 3,” starring Nicolas Cage, has been greenlit by Disney.
During a live taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast in Philadelphia, Turteltaub said a third film in the Cage-led historical adventure franchise is officially moving forward: “it’s happening.”
Turteltaub told the stunned fans that they were “the first people I have said this out loud to,” prompting loud cheers. “I have not said anything before this, but you deserve to have the scoop,” he said.
He added that Disney has a script they like and that, “to whatever extent we can, everyone’s back” in the cast, including Cage.
Back in 2022, Cage had expressed doubts about returning for “National Treasure 3,” mentioning how major studios stopped hiring him after several of his films underperformed. “The phone stopped ringing,” Cage said, connecting it to why the third National Treasure never materialized after 14 years. Two years later, Cage told Screen Rant that “there is no National Treasure 3.”
Well, things have clearly changed since then, and a third chapter will be coming more than 20 years after the last one.
The “National Treasure” franchise began in 2004, starring Cage as treasure hunter Ben Gates. Despite mixed reviews from critics, audiences loved it, and it went on to gross $347M worldwide. Disney released the sequel, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” in 2007, and that one did even better, earning $460M worldwide.
As for Turteltaub, 63, he’s an old-school Hollywood journeyman, with nearly 40 years of filmmaking under his belt, who has remarkably managed to stick around all this time, directing films and TV shows including “3 Ninjas,” “Cool Runnings,” “While You Were Sleeping,” “Phenomenon,” “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” and “Las Vegas.” As I said, a journeyman. His last film was that silly 2018 shark movie, “The Meg,” starring Jason Statham, which somehow managed to gross a massive $529M worldwide.
The sequel will arrive more than 20 years after the original and nearly two decades after “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” with Turteltaub returning to direct.