‘National Treasure 3’ Is Officially Real, and Its Director Says the Script Can’t Dodge Politics Anymore

Nostalgia-driven sequels have become one of Hollywood’s most reliable bets, but few franchises have kept fans waiting quite as long as this one. Nearly two decades have passed since audiences last watched Nicolas Cage’s Ben Gates chase down historical conspiracies, and for years, talk of a third installment felt more like wishful thinking than an actual production update.

That waiting game finally ended over the weekend in an unexpected setting. During Philadelphia’s first-ever National Treasure Weekend, director Jon Turteltaub sat down for a live taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast and delivered news the crowd had been hoping for since the franchise’s 2007 sequel.

Turteltaub confirmed that ‘National Treasure 3’ is officially happening, telling the audience the film now has a finished script that he personally approved and that Disney has greenlit in principle. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the crowd sat in stunned silence for a moment before erupting into applause once the announcement fully registered, with Turteltaub telling the audience they were the first people to hear the news out loud.

Alongside that long-awaited confirmation, Turteltaub also opened up about why the third film has taken so long to materialize, pointing directly to the country’s shifting political climate. He explained that the franchise’s script will need to grapple with modern political polarization head-on rather than sidestepping it entirely, marking a notable shift for a series that’s traditionally leaned on bipartisan, feel-good patriotism.

Turteltaub elaborated on that tension by recalling an anecdote involving former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who once called him directly to request a private congressional screening of the original film, reportedly surprised that a movie widely seen as patriotic had come from filmmakers he assumed leaned Democratic. According to Turteltaub, that same instinct to assign political meaning to everything has only intensified since the franchise’s early days, making it increasingly difficult to keep the story entirely apolitical.

Speaking about how the new script handles that reality, Turteltaub told the National Treasure Hunt podcast that the filmmakers have to be very careful, but that he doesn’t feel they’re allowed to ignore the issue entirely, adding that the story needs to include that idea without making any particular audience feel alienated. It’s a delicate needle to thread for a franchise that’s historically prided itself on being something both sides of the political spectrum could enjoy without feeling lectured.

Beyond the political discussion, Turteltaub offered a few additional details about where things currently stand. He confirmed that, to whatever extent scheduling allows, the original cast is expected to return, putting Cage back at the center of the franchise as Ben Gates. He stopped short of revealing specific plot details or confirming whether the film would include any scenes set in Philadelphia, despite the announcement’s ties to the city.

Turteltaub also injected a bit of dark humor into the update, joking that the project remains “Hollywood real” rather than guaranteed, quipping that if Cage got hit by a bus there’d be no third film, but if he himself got hit by one, the movie would probably still happen anyway. It’s a light-hearted acknowledgment of just how many productions stall out even after reaching this stage of development.

The original ‘National Treasure’ films together grossed $806 million worldwide, with the Disney+ spinoff series ‘National Treasure: Edge of History’ canceled after a single season in 2022, making this theatrical revival feel like the franchise’s most meaningful next step in years.

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