Jon Turteltaub Teases ‘National Treasure 3’ Will Finally Reveal the Page 47 Mystery

‘National Treasure 3‘ spent nearly 2 decades as one of Hollywood’s most persistent what-ifs. The 2004 original earned $347 million worldwide, and its sequel, ‘National Treasure: Book of Secrets’, pulled in $459 million in 2007. Fans have been asking about another adventure ever since.

The wait included a detour along the way. ‘National Treasure: Edge of History’ arrived on Disney+ in 2022 and ended after 1 season, and coverage of the new movie notes that the streaming reboot failed to generate much audience interest. That left a big-screen sequel as the one thing loyal fans kept hoping for.

Everything shifted in late August, when director Jon Turteltaub confirmed the project at a live recording of the National Treasure Hunt podcast in Philadelphia. The event was part of the city’s inaugural National Treasure Weekend, a franchise celebration hosted by Disney, and Turteltaub told the crowd, “It’s finally real. Now, it’s Hollywood real, meaning things could happen.” He added that the audience was the first group he had said it to out loud.

He explained that he and Disney have both signed off on a screenplay, with the studio’s reaction boiling down to a movie it can actually make. He also joked that the whole thing hinges on Nicolas Cage staying healthy, since without Cage as Benjamin Gates there is no sequel.

Cage is the only name treated as a lock. Turteltaub said he hopes the rest of the original cast returns to whatever extent possible, but the returns of Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Harvey Keitel and Helen Mirren remain unconfirmed. Fans of the original ensemble will have to wait for official word.

Disney has not made a formal announcement, and no production start or release date has been revealed. Turteltaub also declined to say whether cameras would roll in Philadelphia, despite how iconic the city is to the first film.

The mystery dates back to the 2007 sequel, which ends with the President telling Gates to read Page 47 of the President’s Book of Secrets. The film never reveals what is written there, only that it is supposedly life-altering. The Disney+ series touched on the same unresolved secret.

For years, audiences have argued over whether it was a throwaway joke or a deliberate setup for a third movie. After roughly 19 years of speculation, it has become one of Disney’s longest-running unanswered movie questions.

That brings us to the newest development. In comments from the National Treasure Hunt podcast that CoveredGeekly highlighted on October 3, Turteltaub teased that the sequel will finally address Page 47 after the franchise first dangled it in 2007. He said he does not think the team can make the new film without at least helping people out with that mystery.

It is a careful promise rather than a guarantee, but it matches the tone of the August announcement, when the podcast’s live episode touched on whether the movie would tackle the famous page. For fans who have been theorizing since 2007, even a partial answer would feel like a payoff.

Turteltaub also tied the 22-year gap since the original film to America’s polarized political climate. He recalled that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy once asked for a private congressional screening, and that both parties have questioned the movie’s patriotic credentials along partisan lines.

The new script reportedly deals with those contemporary political divides. Turteltaub said the team has to be very careful, but he does not feel they are allowed to ignore the subject.

Disney declined to comment when Variety asked about the project, so the sequel remains in its early stages. Still, a studio-approved script, a returning Cage and a director openly discussing Page 47 is more momentum than the franchise has had in years. With Disney reportedly eager to back a new installment after the Disney+ spinoff stumbled, the pressure is on to deliver a story that justifies the long wait.

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