• National Treasure: Edge of History debuted on Disney+ earlier this week.
• But the threequel has yet to be released despite all this time.
• Back in 2007, “Book of Secrets” announced a third movie.

National Treasure: Edge of History debuted on Disney+ earlier this week. The films National Treasure (2004) and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) are clearly a prequel to the series, which is set in the same world. Since the second film’s release in theatres 15 years ago, moviegoers had been left with a cliffhanger that strongly suggested a third movie was on the way. But the threequel has yet to be released despite all this time. Despite the franchise’s fans’ insatiable need for clarification and additional American history-based adventures directed by Nicolas Cage’s Benjamin Gates, a third movie is still only a vague idea stuck in production hell.

Back in 2007, “Book of Secrets” announced a third movie.

In order to gain access to important information about the titular Book, Gates kidnaps the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood) halfway through National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The president acknowledges the existence of the fabled Book and provides Gates with hints as to where to go, before giving the historian only the general instruction to look at Page 47. After Gates discovers the treasure and informs the President of the United States, this does not come up once more until the film’s climax. He is questioned by the president about whether Page 47 was actually looked at. To the delight of fans and the consternation of Gates’ coworkers Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and Abigail Chase, Gates acknowledges that he did and calls the material on the page “life-altering” (Diane Kruger).

The idea has yet to be realized despite this obvious transition into a later movie that would fulfil the promise of something “life-altering.” However, the reasons behind the lack of a third movie are nearly as enigmatic as the franchise’s hints themselves. After all, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, both National Treasure movies did well at the box office and attracted substantial fan bases, especially among younger viewers. At the time, the series almost took the place of Disney’s more kid-friendly Indiana Jones series.

Disney and Jon Turteltaub were prepared for “National Treasure 3”

The writers of Book of Secrets appeared keen to commit to a third movie as soon as it was released. Director and producer of the previous two films, Jon Turteltaub, said in an interview with Sun Media in 2008 that a third film was already in the works. He added that the creative team was taking its time to ensure that the story was done properly, but he yet felt confident that the wait would not be too long. With a third and possibly the fourth movie in mind, Disney soon after also registered the IP domain for the franchise.

But as the 2010s rolled around, the project’s advancement appeared to stop. Turteltaub predicted that a third movie will be in production during the following two years in 2013. Nicolas Cage revealed to Collider in 2016 that a script was still being developed and fact-checked for historical authenticity the year after franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer highlighted that a new team was taking up the script. In 2018, Turteltaub clarified that although the final draughts of the script had been written, Disney had not yet been pleased. He specifically referred to the company’s need for profit and its lack of confidence in National Treasure as a lucrative franchise.

At the worst possible time, Chris Bremner agreed to write the screenplay.

At this point, more than ten years had passed, and the situation was still dangerous. Then, in early 2020, word of a third movie surfaced once more, this time with Chris Bremner being identified as the project’s undisputed new scriptwriter. It was also reported that Bruckheimer, who had just collaborated with Bremner on Bad Boys For Life, was still producing the picture. While this gave National Treasure 3 some much-needed good news, it came at the wrong time. Hollywood’s 2020 did not go as planned.

Although it hasn’t been stated officially, it is very likely that the production was again placed on hold because of the chaotic film schedule during the COVID-19 epidemic. No more information about Bremner’s involvement came to light, and when Nicolas Cage was asked about the possibility of a third movie during an April 2022 AMA thread, he answered simply, “No, the focus was to convert it into a TV program, so I would say definitely not.”

Now it’s possible that Cage was imitating Andrew Garfield and lying to Disney under oath to maintain the secret. However, spectators shouldn’t hold their breath. The likelihood of a third movie has decreased due to all the National Treasure development problems since 2007 (some more openly addressed than others). When the original National Treasure was released, Disney was going through a new phase. Adventure films can be compelling and popular on the big screen even when they are not connected to an existing brand, as the Chronicles of Narnia and Pirates of the Caribbean have shown. Today, it appears that Disney saves its theatres for the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar films, using Disney+ as a safety net for less financially secure productions.

Edge of History might lead to Other National Treasure Movies

National Treasure: Edge of History is a Disney+-only series, which is appropriate. While franchise veteran Harvey Keitel makes brief appearances in the first two episodes, playing Peter Sadusky again, the show mostly centers on a younger ensemble of unique characters. However, there is still optimism that additional connections will be made during the series because GiantFreakinRobot.com just revealed that Nicolas Cage might be returning as Benjamin Gates in season two and because Justin Bartha is reportedly reprising his role as Riley Poole later in the season.

Thus, before committing to a third movie, Edge of History may be used as a launching pad to revive (or at least evaluate) current interest in the franchise. It’s possible that the mystery behind Page 47 may be uncovered and resolved in the Disney+ series, but it would be even more satisfying to see it tackled in a new movie adventure with Cage’s Gates as the main character.

This would be especially true after such a prolonged wait because, despite possible waning franchise interest over time, enough time has passed that National Treasure 3 might feel like a legacy sequel, bringing together nostalgic fans of the early 2000s films and those just discovering the franchise through Disney+. Leaving aside issues with fan service, marketability, and technical difficulties, National Treasure still has questions to be answered and tales to be told.

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