National Treasure 3 With Nicolas Cage Finally Moves Forward After 19-Year Wait
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23.08.2026 09:47
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2 min read
The National Treasure adventure franchise is officially returning to the big screen. As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jon Turteltaub, director of the first two films, confirmed on the National Treasure Hunt podcast that script work on the third movie is complete and has received full approval from Disney.
According to the filmmaker, the project is “finally completely real.” The screenplay for the third film was written by Chris Bremner (writer of Bad Boys for Life and Bad Boys: Ride or Die), with Jerry Bruckheimer returning to produce.
The Return of Nicolas Cage and the Mystery of Page 47
The storyline will once again follow relentless cryptographer and treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates. As noted by Entertainment Weekly, Turteltaub plans to bring back as many of the franchise’s original stars as possible:
- Cast: in previous installments, key roles were played by Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Helen Mirren, and Ed Harris;
- The franchise’s main mystery: fans expect the third film to finally reveal the secret of Page 47 in the President’s Book of Secrets, which Cage’s character called “life-altering” at the end of the 2007 sequel.
As noted by TheWrap, Turteltaub specifically addressed the narrative challenges: the script must carefully navigate modern divisions in American society and historical patriotism while avoiding heavy-handed political statements.
Two Decades in Development Hell
The original 2004 movie, in which Cage’s character stole the U.S. Declaration of Independence to locate a Knights Templar treasure, grossed $347 million worldwide, while the 2007 sequel Book of Secrets brought in $459 million, standing as one of the actor’s most commercially successful releases.
Subsequent attempts to launch a third chapter stalled for years amid constant script rewrites. Disney’s attempt to expand the universe without Nicolas Cage through the series National Treasure: Edge of History (2022) resulted in cancellation right after its first season.
Disney will announce the official start date for filming and the release window for the third movie in the near future.
