NATIONAL TREASURE 3 Script Features Justin Bartha’s Riley Poole, Plans for Nic Cage’s Character to Return
Sometimes, the most exciting news is the kind dropped the most casually. Back in 2022 during a conversation with ComicBook.com about Top Gun Maverick, iconic producer Jerry Bruckheimer seemingly revealed a piece of information many fans have been eager for, for a long time. He said that National Treasure 3 movie was in the works with Nicolas Cage’s possible involvement. It sounded like they were in the early stages of the script and movie. We were hype about actually getting National Treasure 3 with Cage involved, but we really aren’t sure what the heck is happening here.
UPDATE, 3/13/2024: In a 2024 interview with ScreenRant, Nicolas Cage said that there is no National Treasure 3 after all. His statement on this apparently nonexistent sequel is very direct, indeed. “Here we go!,” said Cage. “See, you’re the one that brings these things up and they go out and they eclipse everything else. No, there is no National Treasure 3. If you want to find treasure, don’t look at Disney, okay? It’s not there.”
UPDATE, 3/27/2024: Despite Cage’s comments, Jerry Bruckheimer shared that National Treasure 3 actually is in the works. He noted to MovieWeb, “Well, we hope there’s a National Treasure 3 . We’ve been working on it for quite a while. We have a brilliant writer working on it right now, so hopefully, if we get a script in a timely fashion, we’ll send it to Nic [Cage] and, if he likes it, we’ll make another one. We certainly would like to.”
UPDATE, 5/31/2024: The National Treasure 3 wildness continues. As reported by CBR, franchise director Jon Turteltaub spoke about the film on Comicbook.com’s National Treasure podcast, saying the script is “being written” now.
UPDATE, 8/6/2024: Writer Ted Elliot chatted with ScreenRant and, while he doesn’t confirm that Cage’s Ben Gates is returning, he does say the scrip revolves around Justin Bartha’s Riley Poole. It will also include movie characters and those from the short-lived TV series National Treasure: Edge of History, which featured Bartha’s Riley. Elliot is writing with the idea that Ben and Abigail will return, but who knows.
“That doesn’t mean it will be finished and be great, but if it’s being written it will definitely be momentous when we read it,” he explained. “We all know what’s in it. But there’s a very, very good writer writing it right now who tends to write really good movies. If the script comes out close to good and you can see the finish line from where you are, we’re making the movie.”
Riggghtttt. He also said that there’s a 100% chance of the original cast returning. Someone tell that to Nic Cage.
We need Benjamin Franklin Gates to get on this mystery, stat.
PREVIOUSLY: Jerry Bruckheimer notes that he’s “working on another National Treasure” as one of three big things on his plate right now. When asked if Nicolas Cage would return for National Treasure 3, he offers, “Let’s hope. We’re working on a script right now, hopefully, he likes it. But I think it’s really good, so hopefully, we’ll get it to him shortly.”
Meanwhile, Justin Bartha, who plays Riley Poole in the franchise, offered:
There is a script. That’s all I’ll say. There have been a few different scripts, actually, but the one thing that has to happen is for all the stars to align. I had seen something awhile ago, and it was solid, but the unsung hero of these movies that doesn’t get mentioned as much is Jon Turtletaub. Those movies really are an extension of his being. He is very smart and funny, and has a buoyancy to him that mirrors the tone of the movies. I think he has to feel really comfortable and feel like he can see the movie before it happens — and it is getting closer to that.
There’s been a lot of conversation around Nicolas Cage and National Treasure recently. Nicolas Cage, of course, starred in movies such as Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. During the press tours for these movies, he talked a lot about his career. And, in all honesty, Cage’s interviews did not make it seem like National Treasure 3 was on the table. He even said that there would “probably not” be another movie.
The National Treasure franchise, meanwhile, has yielded a Disney+ TV series. National Treasure: Edge of History released in December 2022, and it saw two actors from the original franchise return to the world. Harvey Keitel returned as Peter Sadusky, and the aforementioned Justin Bartha returned as Riley Poole. While the creators of this National Treasure series have indicated they would love for Nicolas Cage to come on board, he does not seem involved.
All this to say, people have hoped for a National Treasure 3 movie starring Nicolas Cage since National Treasure 2 aired. And while it seems like the movie has had many false starts before, maybe it is finally on its way. We hope Nicolas Cage likes what he sees when reads the National Treasure 3 script.
Originally published on August 19, 2022.
