National Treasure 3 Will See ‘All Principal Actors’ Return & Feature Sean Bean’s Villain

Director Jon Turteltaub has offered a promising update on the development of National Treasure 3, with the filmmaker revealing that all the principal actors, including Nicolas Cage, want to make the action-adventure sequel. During a recent appearance on the National Treasure Hunt podcast, Turteltaub revealed that the long-awaited third outing in the National Treasure franchise is now being written by a “very, very good writer,” and that, should all the pieces fall into place as they’re supposed to, the movie will get made.

“There’s a very, very good writer writing it right now who tends to write really good movies and if the script comes out close to good and you can see the finish line from where you are we’re making the movie.”

Regarding the return of the main trio, Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, and Diane Kruger, Turteltaub declared that they all want to make National Treasure 3. Released back in 2004, National Treasure introduces audiences to Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates, a historian, cryptographer, and treasure hunter at the center of a mystery that involves the American Freemasons, the American Revolutionary War, and stealing the Declaration of Independence.

“There’s no one who doesn’t want to make it. We all want to make it because we all have tremendous affection not just for it but for each other.

The cast really enjoyed making it, we enjoyed the success of it, and would really be fun to go do that again. So, yeah, we all want to make the movie.”

Jon Turteltaub Is Confident Nic Cage Will Lead National Treasure 3; Teases a Villainous Return

If that were not already enough to have you convinced of the potential for National Treasure 3, Turteltaub asserted how much they all want to come back. However, he did explain how they would have to be cautious about making a sequel so many years later.

“100%. There were no enemies made after these movies…and we do have to hurry because people are both getting older and less interested, and lives are changing and all that. And the world changes. Our culture has changed a lot since the first movie was made. Socially, certainly politically, and definitely our language and different cultural changes and you’ve got to make sure you’re in touch with all that and moving with it and doing things the right way.”

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Jerry Bruckheimer Still Wants Nicolas Cage for National Treasure 3: ‘We Have a Brilliant Writer Working on It Right Now’

The legendary producer is still optimistic for Nic Cage’s involvement in National Treasure 3 despite the actor’s recent statements.

But what might National Treasure 3 be about? While Turteltaub kept the plot close to his chest, he did hint at the return of another character from the very first outing: Sean Bean’s villainous Ian Howe. Asked if Howe was now out of prison now that two decades have passed, the director teased…

“Fantastic question. the answer is yes…or about to be yes. and I know that sounds like a National Treasure 3 hint but I’m not saying it isn’t. But I’m not saying it is.”

While the National Treasure franchise, which includes 2004’s National Treasure, the 2007 sequel National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, and the recent Disney+ series National Treasure: Edge of History (which Turteltaub said would have nothing to do with the third movie), have all been met with mixed reviews from critics, audiences have been crying out for another Nic Cage-led historical heist for quite some time. And it sounds like it is finally getting closer…