For the first time in almost two decades, a new National Treasure film might actually be in the works - at least according to a recent report.
Film industry insider Daniel Richtman revealed to his fans on Patreon that he has heard from his sources that National Treasure 3 is officially in pre-production. Additionally, he revealed that screenwriter Chris Bremner is writing the latest draft of the script. If that name rings a bell, it is because THR reported back in 2020 that Bremner, known for penning Bad Boys for Life and Bad Boys: Ride or Die, was hired by Disney to write the script.
National Treasure, a lighthearted, historical-influenced heist film, debuted back in 2004 to lukewarm critic reviews but fared quite well at the box office, bringing in $347 million worldwide. The 2007 sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, received poor reviews but made even more money than its predecessor with $457 million.
After many years of back-and-forth reports of it potentially happening or getting buried for good, Disney opted for the spinoff series, National Treasure: Edge of History, rather than a third film. The show, first airing in 2022 on Disney+, sported a young new cast, including Lisette Olivera as the main protagonist Jess Valenzuela. The series was canceled after just one season.
In the past year, the director of the first two films, Jon Turteltaub, along with the story collaborator for Book of Secrets, Ted Elliott, revealed on the National Treasure Hunt podcast that, though initially withholding Elliott's name, he was hired onto the project, replacing Bremner. Elliott is also known for writing Aladdin, Shrek, and collaborating with producer Jerry Bruckheimer on the Pirates of the Caribbean films for Disney, the latter of which is also said to be attached to the new National Treasure film. Elliott completed his draft of the script and teased numerous tidbits from it during his podcast appearance, citing the return of many familiar characters from the first two films, a fun twist in Ben and Riley's friendship dynamic, and Edge of History being considered canon.
If the new report is true, then it suggests Elliott has been swapped out in favor of Bremner. It remains uncertain if the change reflects Disney wishing to take the story in a different direction or if Bremner is working off either his previous script or the one written by Elliott. If the latter is true, then perhaps Elliott could still receive a "Story by" credit.
It is uncertain whether or not a potential new Pirates of the Caribbean film could have impacted the situation as well, given Elliott's tenure writing for that franchise. Also, no word yet on the Wibberleys' involvement either, having written the screenplay for the two National Treasure films and being the showrunners of the recent series. The same thought can be applied to Turteltaub, though one would have a hard time imagining him electing not to return as director if given the option. Only time will tell.
So what kind of story would a National Treasure 3 feature?
Well, there are plenty of possibilities. Most fans of the franchise would likely point towards the infamous "Page 47" theory from Book of Secrets. It was a certain page from what is known as "The President's Book" that was teased by the President (portrayed by Bruce Greenwood) to Ben as he attempted to clear his family's name from the conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. Another possibility to consider is if Jess will make an appearance as a tie-in from Edge of History, knowing that Riley called Ben during his lone appearance on the show to tell him about Jess.
If you take the historical route, since the first film focused on the Revolutionary times and the second focused on the Civil War era, perhaps the historical tie-in for the new film could be related to a hidden treasure from either World War I or World War II. The JFK assassination could make for an interesting story concept as well.
What we know for sure is that a new report from Richtman shows promise for a new sequel written by Bremner, though not confirmed by the studio. Cage was even quoted recently from MovieWeb showing optimism about the project happening for the first time publicly: "I do know that there’s been more chatter about it than normal." Additionally, a new report from FlixPatrol revealed that National Treasure was among the top 10 movies streamed on Disney+ over the July 4th weekend, landing at #8. As for now, the stars appear to be aligned for this long-awaited project to finally see the light of day.
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