I would say to take this with a grain of salt, even though it’s coming from director Jon Turteltaub himself, but he wouldn’t be the first to mislead fans about a project he really wants to happen. According to Turteltaub, National Treasure 3 has been greenlit by Disney, promising a return of Nicolas Cage’s treasure hunter.
The news was revealed (via Inquirer) in Philly at a taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast. Turteltaub added that the fans in attendance were the first he’s told the news to, and that “to whatever extent we can, everyone’s back”.
He also said that Disney likes the script, but declined to say who the screenwriter was. Back in 2020, Bad Boys for Life writer Chris Bremner was hired for the job, so it might be him.
Regardless, I’m definitely in favor of more National Treasure. They had Nicolas Cage back when he was still a mainstream star, and he got to run around historical landmarks and solve puzzles, find treasures, play the hero…basically, these movies were The Da Vinci Code only much lighter on the brain. And they were hits, too. The first National Treasure in 2004 made $347M, 2007’s Book of Secrets did even better with $457M. Problems with drafting a script Disney liked was the only reason a third movie wasn’t done sooner.
Expect Jerry Bruckheimer to return as producer. Likely, he was the driving force behind this happening at all, just as he has been for more Pirates of the Caribbean.
In the meantime, Disney released the short-lived spinoff series National Treasure: Edge of History, led by a young woman and tied to the original movies only through cameos by Justin Bartha and Harvey Keitel.
Turteltaub has been around a long time, his first movie was in 1988. But he doesn’t have a super long resume even though he’s directed some big hits and iconic classics such as Cool Runnings, While You Were Sleeping, Phenomenon, Last Vegas, and most recently The Meg in 2018.
