National Treasure 3 Script Is In The Works And Being Sent To Nicolas Cage Soon, According To Jerry Bruckheimer

For the first time in a long time, we may have some actual hope that "National Treasure 3" might just be happening. We're still a pretty long way away from the long-awaited sequel actually getting a green light from Disney, but mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer did just offer an encouraging update on the matter, indicating that Nicolas Cage will hopefully have a script in his hands in the not-too-distant future.

Bruckheimer is currently promoting the home video release of "Top Gun: Maverick" and had a chat with the folks at Comicbook.com. During the conversation, the producer gave an update on the sequel that has seemingly been stalled out for years now. As Bruckheimer tells it, the script is currently being worked on, he thinks it's good, and they intend to send it to Cage soon.

"We're working on the script right now. Hopefully [Cage] likes it, but it's really good. So I think we'll get it to him shortly."

It is a little unclear at the moment who precisely is working on the script as this film has been quietly in development for a very long time as "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" came out way back in 2007. But this is a promising development directly from one of the key creatives involved.

A lot of variables

The problem right now is that there are simply too many variables moving around to allow us to get too excited about it just yet. For one, Cage has not seen a script and one simply cannot do a "National Treasure" movie without Benjamin Gates. Emphasis on the word "movie" though, because Disney hasn't let the franchise collect dust. Instead, the Mouse House has opted to turn the adventure-heavy franchise into a TV show on Disney+ titled "National Treasure: Edge of History." So far as we know, Cage is not involved in the series. It is clear though that the show will be tied directly to the films as Justin Bartha will be reprising his role as Riley Poole from the films.

But the existence of the show does not discount the chances of another movie. For one thing, the box office has rebounded in a healthy way in 2022, with things only expected to get better in 2023. Plus, the "National Treasure" movies performed well, with the first one earning $331 million worldwide, while "Book of Secrets" did even better with $457 million. Disney likes money and, if there is money to be made, they will pull the trigger. Cage hasn't expressed optimism about it as of late but who knows? Maybe his tune will change once he sees that script.

"National Treasure: Edge of History" is set to arrive sometime in 2023.