Nicolas Cage’s historian Ben Gates is set to return to the big screen with National Treasure 3 reportedly in the works.
That’s according to the director of the first two instalments, Jon Turteltaub, who made a public declaration on Friday.
Speaking during a live recording of the National Treasure Hunt podcast, Turteltaub said, “It’s happening. You’re the first people I have said this out loud to.”
The director added, “It’s finally real. Now, it’s ‘Hollywood real,’ meaning things can happen.
“We finally have a script that I like, the producers like, and that Disney says, ‘Okay, this sounds like a movie we can make.’”
‘National Treasure’ is a wholesome franchise worth reviving
National Treasure is a franchise worth reviving.
The 2004 original saw Cage’s Ben Gates face off against Sean Bean’s rival, antagonistic mercenary in a chase to find the legendary Templar Treasure.
Along the way, Cage utters the now often-memed line, “I’m going to steal the Declaration of Independence,” develops a romantic relationship with Diane Kruger’s Abigail Chase and has Justin Bartha’s Riley Poole along for the ride as comic relief.
It’s a wonderful noughties-infused flick which moves along with gusto, and serves up an Indiana Jones for young kids adventure with aplomb.
Together with the 2007 sequel, Book of Secrets, the National Treasure series grossed over $800 million at the box office worldwide.
There was also a 2022 spin-off series starring Catherine Zeta-Jones on Disney+, but it’s a return of Cage’s Ben Gates that fans of the original films have been after for almost two decades.
It’s welcome news, as if delivered well, a National Treasure threequel could delight a new generation of young cinemagoers, who dominate the box office landscape, while also serving as a wonderful item of nostalgia for millennials.
READ NEXT – Film news: Will Lee Pace be the MCU’s Magneto in ‘X-Men’?
