‘National Treasure 3’ Is “Finally Real” and “We Have a Script,” Director Says
Director Jon Turteltaub confirmed at a Philadelphia podcast taping that a third National Treasure film is moving forward with a completed script that has cleared Disney's approval process. The announcement marks the franchise's return to theatrical production after more than a decade of dormancy, though Turteltaub was candid about the contingencies typical in Hollywood development.
The news follows a successful run for the treasure-hunt series, which grossed $347 million on the 2004 original and $459 million on its 2007 sequel. An attempt to expand the franchise through a Disney+ television series in 2022 ended after a single season. The current development has not yet yielded casting announcements, leaving unclear whether Nicolas Cage and other stars from the original films will be involved.
- Director Jon Turteltaub announced National Treasure 3 is in active development with an approved script
- Disney has greenlit the project, though casting remains unconfirmed and no timeline given
- The franchise generated $806M across two films; a TV spinoff was cancelled after one season
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National Treasure is a Disney adventure franchise built around Nicolas Cage as a historian who deciphers codes and clues hidden in real historical documents and landmarks, most famously the Declaration of Independence, to uncover lost treasures. The first film came out in 2004, followed by a sequel in 2007, both directed by Jon Turteltaub and both substantial box-office hits. The tone mixes puzzle-solving, history and light action, and the series built a loyal following over two decades even without further theatrical instalments.
Since the second film, Disney has made sporadic attempts to keep the franchise going, including a Disney+ spin-off series in 2022 that was cancelled after just one season. That left the future of a third cinema film uncertain for years, with fans and cast members periodically discussing the idea without any confirmed progress. Turteltaub, who directed the first two films, has remained the person most associated with any potential continuation.
This matters because a new National Treasure film would be one of the more notable franchise revivals in recent years, testing whether audience appetite for the mix of history-based adventure and star-driven blockbuster film-making still holds after such a long gap. Key unresolved questions include who might direct and star, and how far along the project actually is given Hollywood films often stall between script approval and production.
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