Summary

• National Treasure 3 development has stalled due to Disney's shifting priorities, but the potential storyline involving the mystery of Page 47 has already been set up.
• Page 47 could contain information about the missing 18-and-a-half minutes from the Watergate Tapes, which would be a compelling storyline for National Treasure 3.
• The existence of the Georgia Guidestones and the secretive Bohemian Club could provide intriguing narratives for National Treasure 3, possibly involving the President and uncovering hidden societies.

It has been heavily speculated what is on page 47 in the President's Book of Secrets in National Treasure 2, and the National Treasure Page 47 mystery could be the premise for the long-awaited National Treasure 3. 2004's National Treasure was a promising movie that had the potential to develop into a long-running, profitable franchise for Disney. The movie stars Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, and Justin Bartha. National Treasure followed protagonists Ben, Abigail, and Riley on their search for a long-lost historical treasure based on a map found on the back of the Declaration of Independence. 2007's National Treasure: Book of Secrets followed shortly after.

National Treasure 3 was being developed after Book of Secrets, as writers Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro had been hired, and a script was in development at Disney. Things were slowing in 2013, though, with producer Jerry Bruckheimer only reporting that the likely not-happening National Treasure 3 script was still being written. In 2018, Turteltaub commented on National Treasure 3's status, confirming that development had stalled because Disney's priorities laid elsewhere. However, the references to a mysterious Page 47 made by the President of the United States to the titular book of secrets from National Treasure 2 meant the table has already been set for a new adventure.

There Is Something Hidden At Mount Vernon

Page 47 Could Contain George Washington's Greatest Secrets

National Treasure: Book of Secrets established that the current President had a fascination and love for America's first president, George Washington. In the film, Ben manipulates the President into separating him from his birthday party at Mount Vernon (Washington's home in Virginia). Ben takes the President down into a secret network of tunnels only indicated on an older map of the estate.

Although no real-life mystery theories surround Mount Vernon or Washington's life there, devising a story where information about something hidden on the estate — specifically, the tunnels — is located on the National Treasure 2 page 47 certainly seems like a viable direction for an exciting National Treasure 3 story. It also doesn't hurt that the character who tells Ben to look at page 47, the President, also has an established interest in the land and its most famous former resident.

What Is On The Missing 18 And 1/2 Minutes Of The Watergate Tapes

The President's Book Of Secrets Might Explain One Of America's Most Infamous Scandals

The Watergate scandal has been a continued source of interest in pop culture, and would be a fitting addition to the greater National Treasure ethos. While the basics of the Watergate scandal and its aftermath have been pored over in books, television, and movies, there is one detail of the scandal that remains a mystery and would be perfect National Treasure page 47 material: the missing 18-and-a-half minutes from more than 1,000 hours of recorded conversations. This would make the conspiracy a ripe topic for Nicolas Cage’s National Treasure character Ben Gates's next adventure.

Common belief holds that there is nothing substantial revealed in the tapes that hasn't been documented in other conversations, but that does not make the deletion of those specific 18-and-a-half minutes less intriguing. Considering this scandal directly involved then-President Richard Nixon, it would seem logical within the world of National Treasure that Nixon would have written down what took place during those 18 and a half minutes before deleting that specific portion on page 47. It would also explain why the National Treasure 2 page 47 is specifically of interest to another president further down the line who could potentially need that information for his own purposes.

The Georgia Guidestones Put Ben, Abigail, And Riley On A New Mission

Page 47 may explain One Of America's Strangest Landmarks

National Treasure 2 does not show a time when presidents stopped writing entries in the Book of Secrets, and some relatively recent events, including the Watergate tapes, were mentioned in the film. So it is possible another recent event was mentioned on the National Treasure page 47: the truth behind the Georgia Guidestones. The Georgia Guidestones were erected in 1980 under mysterious circumstances in Elbert County, Georgia. To this day, the true authors of the Guidestones have never been revealed. On July 1, 1979, a man working under the pseudonym Robert C. Christian approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company; he was acting as a representative for a small group who deemed themselves loyal Americans.

The group wanted to construct the Guidestones as a calendar, a clock, and a compass, which were meant to represent values the group believed should be promoted to the rest of the nation for future generations. National Treasure 2's Guidestones are fascinating in the sense that they are constructed similarly to Stonehenge and are written in a variety of languages. The information they contain is considered polarizing and has led to reactionary graffiti appearing on them over the years, all of which reject the values they espouse: they appear to promote population control, eugenics, and internationalism while also claiming to promote peace, love, and harmony.

Naturally, many conspiracy theories have popped up over the years about why these Guidestones exist. Furthermore, people have wondered who erected the Guidestones, why a small place in northern Georgia was chosen for their location, and so forth. The existence of the Guidestones as an artifact from recent American history, which touches upon conspiracy-laden ideas about humanity, feels appropriate for the President's Book of Secrets.

It is easy to envision a story unfolding in National Treasure 3 in which the President has caught wind of potentially life-changing information contained within the Guidestones. Then, either the Guidestones have been recorded on the page 47 National Treasure features, or the President's book makes mention of the Guidestones in relation to a larger conspiracy, which the President then recruits Ben Gates's help to solve.

The Truth Behind Secret Society The Bohemian Club

National Treasure's Book Of Secrets Could Expose A Hidden Society

In National Treasure, the Knights Templar and the Freemasons were key parts of the story, having been responsible for creating the treasure map later used by Ben, Abigail, and Riley. With secret societies now an established part of the National Treasure world, it would not be far-fetched for another secret society to appear in National Treasure 3. Between this and getting the President involved, there is an interesting overlap of these areas because of the society known as The Bohemian Club.

The Bohemian Club, much like the Knights Templar and the Freemasons, isn't necessarily a secret society in the sense that nobody knows of their existence, but rather because they operate in secret with only the members of the society knowing what occurs behind closed doors. The Bohemian Club has existed since at least the 1870s and has had regular gatherings at Bohemian Grove in Monte Rio, California.

The membership has been men-only and has consisted of artists, musicians, and businessmen like William Randolph Hearst, as well as U.S. presidents like Richard Nixon. The particulars of discussions or interactions that occur there are not widely known; what is known is that early discussions of the creation of the atomic bomb under The Manhattan Project did take place there.

Considering The Bohemian Club's secrecy (for the most part) as well as the membership of various U.S. Presidents over the years, it is entirely possible the National Treasure 2 page 47 could have included commentary on one of these gatherings that would have gone on to shape future events. If interactions related to the creation of one of the 20th century's most powerful weapons happened at Bohemian Groves among Bohemian Club members, questions remain about what else could have happened there.

What To Expect From National Treasure 3

Will The Next National Treasure Movie Explain What's On Page 47?

Over 10 years have passed since the release of National Treasure: Book of Secrets, making the release of National Treasure 3 increasingly less likely to happen. However, in a 2020 article covering the then-upcoming release of Bad Boys for Life, The Hollywood Reporter mentioned that the film’s scriptwriter, Chris Bremner, was also working on a script for the long-rumored National Treasure sequel for Disney. Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of the first two National Treasure movies, is also supposed to return for National Treasure 3.

In an interview (via Collider), producer Jason Reed suggested that the long wait for National Treasure 3 was due largely to its paling in comparison to other Disney franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean or Star Wars. Reed suggested that a third installment simply didn’t have enough monetary promise to make its creation a priority. However, frustratingly vague teases toward the future continuation of the National Treasure franchise were offered by Bruckheimer as recently as May 2020, where he confirmed that National Treasure 3 was in production.

There is still frustratingly little known about the plot for National Treasure 3, which is still in the script-writing stages, but it would be a decades-long disappointment should the third installment choose to move on from the contents of National Treasure page 47 of the President’s Book of Secrets without any explanation as to its significance. National Treasure: Book of Secrets provided the perfect mystery content from page 47 for Ben Gates to investigate next, so with any luck, the scriptwriters will not leave audiences hanging for much longer.

Nicolas Cage Probably Won’t Be In National Treasure 3

Unfortunately, even if National Treasure 3 happens, Nicolas Cage might not return to headline it. Throughout the ups and downs of National Treasure 3's journey through development hell, Cage has been candid about why it's taking so long. Here's what he's said on the matter (via CinemaBlend):

"The phone stopped ringing. It was like, ‘What do you mean we're not doing National Treasure 3? It's been 14 years. Why not?’... Well, Sorcerer's Apprentice didn't work, and Ghost Rider didn't really sell tickets. And Drive Angry, that just came and went."

According to Cage, his own decrease in market value has been a big part of Disney's feet-dragging when it comes to getting the next National Treasure film made. Since Nic Cage is synonymous with National Treasure at this point, it follows that any reluctance on Disney's part to bank on him would also spell doom for the franchise. National Treasure 3 could still happen without Nicolas Cage, though, and if it does end up happening, it most likely will have to.

Over the past several years, Nicolas Cage has starred cult-concept movies like Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, to reasonable success. It seems unlikely that Cage would be keen to reprise his role in National Treasure 3.

Did National Treasure: Edge Of History Reveal Page 47's Contents?

The Cancelled Spin-Off Didn't Give Many More Clues

With the release of the National Treasure: Edge of History TV on Disney+, many were hoping the National Treasure 2 page 47 mystery would be solved — but does Edge of History reveal what's on page 47? Despite the Library of Congress confirming that the Book of Secrets is purely a fictional tool developed by Disney, the mystery of page 47 has captured audiences' attention, and it remains one of National Treasure's biggest mysteries. Page 47 in National Treasure is described as "life-altering" in the movie, and many have gone on to theorize what it could be.

Some have posited that it could be regarding the Illuminati and their planned takeover. Another popular theory is that page 47 details the Roswell incident. The National Treasure 2 page 47 is referred to in the canceled too soon Edge of History when Riley tells Jess that he and Ben have been working on deciphering the page for the last 15 years. However, that's all that's said about the mystery, and it doesn't go into any more detail.

Now that National Treasure: Edge of History has been canceled after its first season, no season 2 will go into further detail. However, Riley's comment at least means that the producers are very much aware that audiences are dying to know the secret behind the National Treasure page 47 mystery.

The National Treasure Franchise Needs To Lean Into The Page 47 Mystery

Page 47 Could Save National Treasure

While Nicolas Cage is undoubtedly the biggest appeal of the franchise, and his absence in National Treasure: Edge of History partly explains why the Disney+ series was unsuccessful, the Page 47 mystery is what makes the franchise so unique from other adventure series. The moment Page 47 was introduced as an ongoing mystery in the sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and was set up to become the driving force of any following release, the National Treasure franchise became more than just the Indiana Jones derivative that it was seen as. And it was a big mistake that National Treasure: Edge of Destiny wasn't about Page 47.

Instead of focusing on the mystery that had been debated for over a decade among the fanbase, the Disney+ series attempted to be more action-adventure-focused like The Mummy and had a completely different narrative. Page 47 could feature the answer to any historical conspiracy in America, and there are limitless possibilities and any one of them could be such a satisfying payoff. A third National Treasure movie with Nicolas Cage that definitively answers the National Treasure Page 47 mystery could be the perfect trilogy-ender. However, unfortunately, unless National Treasure 3 happens, fans will probably never find out what's on Page 47.