Completely unexpected details about the future of the long-dormant National Treasure franchise just surfaced out of left field, confirming that a National Treasure 3 movie is still in the works. The highly demanded sequel has been simmering in development hell for over a decade now, so it's nice to hear that the film isn't dead in the water.
National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets received mixed responses from critics back in 2004 and 2007, but it's undeniable they were box office hits at the time. Considering their combined financial success and the massive meme culture that surrounded their feel-good, quasi-intellectual plots (and, of course, star Nicolas Cage), it's truly a wonder that National Treasure 3 still doesn't have a release window as of 2020. The door was left wide open in National Treasure: Book of Secrets for more story with a wealth of American civil religion, history, and culture just waiting to be explored by a sequel. Waiting fans have been left with nothing but scraps of information about National Treasure 3's molasses-like development.
Finally, some news has come to light about National Treasure 3's prospects, and fans will be relieved to know that the news is good, if a bit sparse. In a seemingly unrelated trawl of the pre-production status of a Bad Boys for Life sequel, THR shared that Bad Boys for Life screenplay writer Chris Bremner has also been tapped by Disney to pen the script for National Treasure 3, "among other projects." Since Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer of both long-awaited sequels, it follows that Bremner would be entrusted by Bruckheimer with each script. The gap between Bad Boys 2 and Bad Boys for Life spans 17 years, and the latter's premiere in theaters today should inspire real hope that the National Treasure series will also get the third installment it deserves.
The history of National Treasure 3's stalled development is a long and mildly convoluted one, with various vital figures feeding the public conflicting information over the years. In 2016, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the project was still alive and that time and money were being invested into it. Meanwhile, the director of both released National Treasure films, Jon Turteltaub, claimed in 2018 that Disney simply hasn't spared any financial resources for the project. To confuse matters more, Disney CEO Bob Iger contradicted Turtletaub's explanation during Disney's 2019 shareholders meeting, once again acknowledging Bruckheimer's wishes to move ahead with a sequel but alleging the producer has yet to greenlight it.
In a cruel world where viewers can't even watch Cage brazenly steal the Declaration of Independence on Disney's own streaming service, to hear any positive news at all about National Treasure 3 is relatively comforting. The fledgling film's future release is far from certain, but fans of the franchise will take every small victory they can get at this point.
Source: THR