Someone check the back of the Declaration of Independence. National Treasure 3 is actually moving forward, with original director Jon Turteltaub revealing that the long-awaited sequel is now “finally real”, a script is in place and Nicolas Cage is part of the plan to get the old gang back together.

‘It’s Happening’

Turteltaub dropped the rather massive update during a live recording of the National Treasure Hunt podcast at Philadelphia’s Independence Visitor Center, held as part of the city’s first National Treasure Weekend. As quoted by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the filmmaker told the crowd that they were “the first people I have said this out loud to” before delivering the words fans have been waiting close to two decades to hear: “It’s happening.”

He immediately followed that up with the sort of caveat only Hollywood could provide.

“I have not said anything before this, but you deserve to have the scoop. It’s finally real. Now, it’s Hollywood real, meaning things could happen. Nic gets hit by a bus, there’s no National Treasure 3. If I get hit by a bus, there’s probably a National Treasure 3. Welcome to Hollywood.”

So, we’re not quite at the “book your opening-night tickets” stage just yet, but this is a hell of a lot more concrete than the endless development updates and rumours surrounding the sequel over the years.

There’s a Script Disney Likes

Perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle is that they finally have a screenplay that appears to be working. Turteltaub said both he and Disney like the current script, clearing one of the biggest hurdles for a sequel that has spent years bouncing around development.

And Cage isn’t expected to be hunting alone. “To whatever extent we can, everyone’s back,” Turteltaub said of bringing the original cast together again, with Cage included in those plans. Diane Kruger played Abigail Chase in both films, Justin Bartha was Ben’s increasingly exasperated tech genius Riley Poole, Jon Voight played Ben’s father Patrick Gates, and Harvey Keitel appeared as FBI agent Peter Sadusky.

Disney and Cage’s representatives have not separately announced his return, so there’s still some Hollywood fine print attached here. But at least according to the director of both previous films, Benjamin Franklin Gates is very much part of the plan.

Why Has It Taken So Damn Long?

Finding the right treasure hunt hasn’t been the only complication. Turteltaub said America’s increasingly divided political climate has made developing another National Treasure particularly tricky, given that these are movies built around American history, patriotism, presidents and national institutions.

He believes audiences have become much quicker to place political meaning on material, and said the third film will have to acknowledge that reality without allowing it to overwhelm the adventure.

“We have to be very careful, but I don’t feel we are allowed to ignore it. I think we have to include that idea in the story somehow without making someone feel put off.”

It’s an interesting wrinkle for a franchise whose first movie had Cage’s character stealing the Declaration of Independence not because he hated America, of course, but because he needed to save it. And find the secret treasure map conveniently hidden on the back.

And Then There’s Page 47…

The original National Treasure arrived in 2004 and earned around US$347 million worldwide, with Ben Gates racing through clues hidden throughout American history while trying to beat his enemies to a vast treasure. The core team returned for 2007’s National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which went bigger and pulled in around US$459 million worldwide.

That sequel also left behind one mystery that fans have been waiting nearly two decades to see resolved. Towards the end of the film, Ben is given access to the President’s secret book and is specifically directed to Page 47. Whatever he discovers there is kept from the audience, giving a potential third film a very convenient piece of unfinished business to pick up.

The franchise briefly returned with Disney+ series National Treasure: Edge of History, which introduced a new generation of treasure hunters while bringing Bartha and Keitel back as Riley and Sadusky, and introducing Catherine Zeta-Jones as a ruthless black-market antiquities dealer. The show was cancelled after one season.

As for what National Treasure 3 will actually be about, Turteltaub isn’t giving that treasure away yet. No plot details, production start or release date have been revealed, but Ben Gates finally appears to have another adventure ahead of him. Now, what the hell is on Page 47?

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