Get ready for another treasure hunt: A third National Treasure movie is happening, according to director Jon Turteltaub.
Speaking at a live taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast Friday night in Philadelphia, Turteltaub said, “It’s happening. 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.”
“We finally have a script that I like,” he said before adding before revealing that Disney said, “OK, this sounds like a movie we can make.”
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Disney for comment and they declined.
The first National Treasure film was released in 2004 and followed Cage as historian Ben Gates, who steals the Declaration of Independence to find a map to an ancient, rumored treasure before anyone else can get to it. Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Justin Bartha and Christopher Plummer also starred in the film, which grossed $347 million at the global box office.
The 2007 follow-up, National Treasure: The Book of Secrets, earned $459 million worldwide and added Helen Mirren, Ed Harris, Bruce Greenwood and Ty Burrell to the cast.
The franchise later expanded to television with National Treasure: Edge of History, which premiered on Disney+ in 2022 but was canceled after one season. Catherine Zeta-Jones joined the cast, while Bartha and Keitel reprised their roles.
As for the third feature, no casting has been announced. THR reached out to Cage’s representative for comment.