Jon Turteltaub says National Treasure 3 is happening, and Nicolas Cage is expected to return. He made the call during a Friday night taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast at the Philadelphia Visitor Center, where he said the people in the room were the first to hear it from him out loud.
“It’s finally real. Now, it’s Hollywood real, meaning things could happen,” Turteltaub said. He also said, “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.”
Philadelphia hears it first
The timing mattered because the announcement landed during National Treasure weekend in Philadelphia, where hundreds of people gathered for a free screening of National Treasure on Independence Mall. A sold-out tour by Aubrey Paris and Emily Black of filming locations around Philadelphia also ran as part of the weekend, along with a screening of National Treasure: Book of Secrets.
That local turnout gave the sequel news an audience that already treats the franchise like a destination event. For fans of the National Treasure films, the practical takeaway is simple: the third chapter is no longer just a wish, and the franchise director chose a live setting tied to the series’ Philadelphia history to say so.
Nearly two decades later
The first National Treasure film came out in 2004, and Turteltaub said it has taken nearly two decades to make another chapter. He pointed to the political climate as one reason the project took so long, and said there is a script he and Disney like.
He also said former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called him out of the blue to ask for a private screening of National Treasure for Congress. That detail tracks with the way the series has moved beyond a straight adventure title and into a politics-adjacent brand that can still pull attention from outside the usual film crowd.
What the script suggests
Turteltaub said the third film will address politics and internet-driven polarization in the story. He added, “We have to be very careful, but I don’t feel we are allowed to ignore it,” and, “I think we have to include that idea in the story somehow without making someone feel put off.”
That makes the sequel sound less like a nostalgia exercise and more like a course correction for a franchise that has been away since National Treasure: Book of Secrets. He said, to whatever extent they can, everyone is back in the National Treasure cast, including Nicolas Cage.
What comes next is the part Turteltaub did not fill in: no plot details, no Philadelphia scenes, and no release date. For now, the useful read is that National Treasure 3 has moved from speculation to active development, with Cage attached in principle and Disney already inside the script conversation.
