National Treasure 3 Is Finally Moving Forward After Nearly Two Decades

August 24, 2026

National Treasure 3 Is Finally Moving Forward After Nearly Two Decades

There has been talk of another National Treasure movie for so long that the idea of Nicolas Cage returning as Benjamin Franklin Gates had started to feel like one of those Hollywood projects that would forever remain “in development.”

Benjamin Gates | Disney Wiki | Fandom

That changed in Philadelphia.

Jon Turteltaub, who directed both National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, confirmed during a live recording of the National Treasure Hunt podcast that the third movie is finally moving forward. He made the announcement during Philadelphia’s first National Treasure Weekend, telling the audience they were the first people he had publicly shared the news with.

The director didn’t simply say another movie was being discussed. He said the project is “finally real” and explained that the team now has a script he actually likes.

That’s a very different place from where the franchise has been for years.

The Script Is Finally Somewhere Disney Can Get Behind

One of the biggest pieces of news from Turteltaub’s announcement is that the project has moved past the endless idea stage.

According to the director, the team finally has a screenplay that works for him, and Disney has responded positively, essentially saying the story sounds like a movie the studio could make.

That doesn’t mean cameras are rolling yet.

There is no announced filming schedule, no release date and no official production timetable. Turteltaub was also careful to remind the audience that Hollywood projects can still change or fall apart even after reaching this point.

In fact, he made the point with a very Jon Turteltaub joke, warning that this is still “Hollywood real.” His example involved Nicolas Cage getting hit by a bus—because, as Turteltaub joked, if something happened to Cage, there would be no National Treasure 3.

So yes, the movie is real.

But it’s not finished.

Nicolas Cage Is Coming Back as Ben Gates

For fans, this is probably the most important part.

Nicolas Cage is expected to return as Benjamin Franklin Gates, the treasure hunter and historian at the center of the first two movies. Reports on Turteltaub’s announcement say the original cast is being targeted for a return, with the director saying, “to whatever extent we can, everyone’s back.”

That could mean the return of familiar faces from the original movies, although the exact cast has not been formally announced in full.

The original films also starred Diane Kruger as Abigail Chase, Justin Bartha as Riley Poole, Jon Voight as Patrick Gates and Harvey Keitel as Peter Sadusky, alongside Cage.

Whether every one of those characters returns is still something audiences will have to wait to find out.

Why Did It Take So Long?

This is where the National Treasure story gets unusually complicated.

The first movie came out in 2004, with Cage playing Ben Gates, a historian who discovers a clue suggesting that America’s Declaration of Independence contains a hidden map leading to a legendary treasure.

The movie was not a critical darling, but audiences showed up. It made roughly $347 million worldwide.

Three years later, National Treasure: Book of Secrets arrived and performed even better, bringing in around $459 million worldwide.

That should have made a third movie an easy decision.

Instead, the franchise spent years stuck in development.

Turteltaub has now suggested that the changing political climate in the United States was one factor that made the idea of another National Treasure movie more complicated. The franchise has always played with American history, patriotism and political figures, and the director has said the current climate made the filmmakers think more carefully about how those themes should be handled.

That’s part of the reason this announcement feels so significant. The team isn’t simply trying to repeat the first two movies. They have been thinking about how a new National Treasure story can work in a very different America.

And Then There Was Edge of History

Disney did make another attempt to keep the franchise alive without Cage.

In 2022, Disney+ launched ** National Treasure: Edge of History**, starring Lisette Olivera and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The series expanded the franchise with a new treasure-hunting story and a younger cast.

It didn’t last.

The show ran for one season before Disney+ canceled it.

That makes the decision to return to Ben Gates particularly interesting.

Instead of trying another completely new version of National Treasure, Disney is now moving ahead with the character audiences originally fell in love with.

There Is Still One Big Question: Page 47

Anyone who remembers National Treasure: Book of Secrets probably remembers Page 47.

At the end of the second movie, President Richard Hendricks gives Ben Gates a mysterious page from John Wilkes Booth’s diary. The page contains something so significant that Ben asks the president what it means.

The president tells him it is something he has to figure out himself.

And then the movie ends.

For nearly 20 years, fans have wondered what was actually on Page 47.

Turteltaub’s announcement has naturally brought that mystery back into the conversation. There has been no confirmation that National Treasure 3 will finally reveal the answer, but the unresolved clue is one of the most obvious pieces of franchise history that a third film could revisit.

And honestly, after waiting this long, fans are going to expect an answer.

This Isn’t Just Nostalgia

There is an obvious nostalgia factor here.

The original National Treasure arrived when Nicolas Cage was still in one of the most recognizable periods of his career, and the films became a particular kind of family adventure: American history, secret societies, hidden clues, old documents and Nicolas Cage running around trying to steal something nobody was supposed to steal.

But the reason a third movie still has an audience after all these years is not just nostalgia.

People genuinely want to see what Ben Gates would be doing now.

The world has changed dramatically since 2007. Technology has changed. Politics have changed. The way audiences consume movies has changed. And yet the basic appeal of the franchise remains pretty simple: give Ben Gates a historical mystery that seems impossible, then let him chase it.

Turteltaub now has the chance to do exactly that again.

When Will National Treasure 3 Come Out?

There is no release date yet.

The project is in development, with a screenplay that Turteltaub likes and Disney supporting the direction of the movie. Production details have not been announced, and the studio has not confirmed when cameras will start rolling.

So fans shouldn’t expect a trailer anytime soon.

For now, the biggest news is simply that the project has finally crossed the line from another long-running Hollywood rumor into something its director is publicly calling real.

After nearly 20 years, Benjamin Gates may finally be going back on the hunt.

And this time, fans might finally get to find out what was on Page 47.

FAQs

Is National Treasure 3 officially happening?

Yes. Director Jon Turteltaub confirmed during a live recording of the National Treasure Hunt podcast in Philadelphia that the third movie is moving forward. He said the project is “finally real.”

Is Nicolas Cage returning for National Treasure 3?

Nicolas Cage is expected to return as Benjamin Franklin Gates. Turteltaub said the filmmakers want to bring back as much of the original cast as possible, although a complete official cast announcement has not been made.

Does National Treasure 3 have a script?

Yes. Turteltaub said the team finally has a script that he likes and that Disney has responded positively to the screenplay.

When will National Treasure 3 be released?

There is currently no confirmed release date. The movie remains in development and has not yet entered production.

Will Diane Kruger and the other original cast return?

Turteltaub has said that, “to whatever extent we can, everyone’s back,” suggesting the filmmakers want to reunite the original cast. However, individual returning cast members have not all been officially confirmed.

Will National Treasure 3 explain Page 47?

That has not been confirmed. Page 47 remains one of the biggest unanswered mysteries from National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and fans are already wondering whether the third movie will finally reveal its contents.

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