National Treasure 3: Director Confirms Sequel With Nicolas Cage Is Happening

National Treasure 3 is actively in development with Disney backing and original star Nicolas Cage in talks to reprise his role, according to franchise director Jon Turteltaub.

The third installment of the American history adventure-thriller franchise has finally reached a production stage favored by the studio, Turteltaub announced during a live taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast in Philadelphia.

“It’s happening,” Turteltaub told the live audience during the recording, according to audio and video captured at the event. “You’re the first people I have said this out loud to.”

The director offered a cautious assessment of the project’s current status within the studio system.

It’s finally real. Now, it’s ‘Hollywood real,’ meaning things can happen. Nic gets hit by a bus, there’s no National Treasure. If I get hit by a bus, there’s probably a National Treasure. Welcome to Hollywood, that’s Hollywood.

Jon Turteltaub

Production Status and Disney’s Involvement

According to Turteltaub, the third film in the franchise has finally reached a script state that he likes, prompting studio executives to indicate that the project sounds like a movie they can make. Representatives for Nicolas Cage and Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from entertainment reporting outlets.

Turteltaub directed the first two films in the franchise: National Treasure in 2004 and National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

Franchise Box Office and History

The original two films rank among the most financially successful live-action projects of Nicolas Cage’s career. National Treasure grossed $347 million, while its sequel, Book of Secrets, pulled in $459 million. Aside from Cage’s voice work in the 2013 animated feature The Croods, the two adventure films remain his highest-grossing live-action releases.

The original 2004 film introduced audiences to historian Ben Gates, played by Cage, who steals the Declaration of Independence after discovering a hidden map to a historic treasure on the back of the document. The sequel followed Gates as he raced to clear his family name after a newly surfaced page from John Wilkes Booth’s diary implicated his ancestor in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

The film franchise previously expanded into television with a Disney+ spinoff series titled National Treasure: Edge of History. That series, which starred Catherine Zeta-Jones, premiered in 2022 and ran for a single season before concluding.