Treasure seekers have been searching for more than just the Declaration of Independence in recent years. Fifteen years have passed since the release of the second National Treasure film, and while there have been dreams and rumours of a third film, no real progress has been made towards creating National Treasure 3. Until now, that is. Jerry Bruckheimer stated the script for the third film has been written and is awaiting permission from series actor Nicolas Cage in an exclusive scoop for ComicBook.com. Bruckheimer revealed the information during an interview about his upcoming picture Top Gun: Maverick.
Let’s hope we’re writing the script right now. It’s great, and I’m hoping [Cage] enjoys it. So I anticipate that it will reach him soon. Due to the series’ transition to a Disney+ streaming programme, a third feature in the franchise has been considered quite unlikely in recent months. Cage didn’t do anything to make people want to see him again in future instalments of the film or streaming series. During an April Ask Me Anything (AMA) post on Reddit, Cage was questioned about doing a third National Treasure film. Without any equivocation, he answered, “[n]o,” adding, “the priority was to convert it into a TV programme, therefore I would say probably not.”
This, however, appears to have altered. Even though the movies were tremendously popular and had a really strong audience, it’s a movie that gets brought up all the time, the corporation was never able to profit from it as a franchise, producer Jason Reed explained in an interview years later. It was more like a sequel, and National Treasure 3 was supposed to be another sequel. Cage reminisced on the extended hiatus following National Treasure 2 to GQ, adding, “[t]he phone stopped calling.
They were all like, “What do you mean we’re not doing National Treasure 3?” There has been no reason to wait any longer than 14 years. But the Sorcerer’s Apprentice bombed, and the Ghost Rider failed to attract audiences. And Drive Angry was here, then it was over. Despite the fact that Cage has thus far expressed no interest in appearing in the new series, its producers are holding out hope that he may yet change his mind and come back. The Disney+ show has been in production since early this year. Many of the actors from the movies are coming back to reprise their roles, including Justin Bartha as Riley Poole and Harvey Keitel as Peter Sadusky. Disney+ now offers streaming access to both “National Treasure” movies.