‘National Treasure 3’ Is Officially Happening, and the Director Just Confirmed It Live

Few franchise sequels have spent as long stuck in limbo as this one, cycling through years of hopeful producer comments, conflicting statements from its star, and false starts that never quite materialized into anything concrete. Fans of Ben Gates and his treasure-hunting crew have learned to take every update with a healthy dose of skepticism.

That skepticism has been well-earned. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer spent much of the past two years offering cautiously optimistic updates, saying the project was “coming along quite well,” even as Nicolas Cage himself flatly told ScreenRant back in March 2024 that “there is no National Treasure 3.”

That contradiction has now finally been resolved, and in dramatic fashion. Director Jon Turteltaub confirmed at Philadelphia’s first-ever National Treasure Weekend that the long-awaited third film is officially moving forward, telling a live audience during a taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast, “It’s happening.” Turteltaub emphasized just how significant the reveal was, telling hosts Aubrey Paris and Emily Black, “I have not said anything before this, but you deserve to have the scoop. It’s finally real.”

According to reports from the event, the crowd’s initial reaction was pure disbelief, as if Turteltaub had just announced he was planning to steal the Declaration of Independence himself. Once he confirmed he was speaking to them first, ahead of any other outlet or announcement, the audience broke into thunderous applause.

That kind of grassroots, in-person reveal fits neatly with just how personal this franchise has always felt to its dedicated fanbase. Choosing to make the announcement at a fan-organized weekend celebrating the films, rather than through a traditional press release, gave the moment an added layer of authenticity that Turteltaub clearly leaned into.

Turteltaub indicated there’s now a script both he and Disney are happy with, and that “to whatever extent we can, everyone’s back,” suggesting the original cast is expected to return alongside him. That aligns with earlier reporting from Bruckheimer, who confirmed back in 2024 that screenwriter Ted Elliott, known for his work on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, had joined the project specifically to bring back Ben Gates, Riley Poole, and Abigail Chase.

Getting to this point required navigating years of mixed signals. Bruckheimer first teased the project’s development as far back as 2020, and Justin Bartha confirmed in December 2022 that he’d already read a script for the film, long before Turteltaub’s confirmation made things official.

Nicolas Cage’s own comments about the project have arguably created the most confusion over the years. Beyond his blunt 2024 denial, Cage responded to a 2022 Reddit AMA by suggesting Disney’s priority at the time was turning the franchise into a television series rather than pursuing a third film, referring to what eventually became the short-lived Disney+ series “National Treasure: Edge of History.”

That spinoff series, which featured limited appearances from original stars Harvey Keitel and Justin Bartha, was canceled after just one season, falling well short of the box office success the original two films achieved. “National Treasure” grossed roughly $347.5 million worldwide in 2004, while its 2007 sequel, “Book of Secrets,” pulled in an even larger $459.2 million globally.

With Turteltaub now publicly confirming the project’s status and expressing optimism about the original cast’s involvement, “National Treasure 3” has finally moved past the years of speculation that have surrounded it. No release date or production timeline has been announced yet, but after nearly two decades of false starts, simply having a director confirm the film is real marks significant progress.

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