There’s a lot of love for the National Treasure franchise. They’re goofy, cheesy movies that just hit the right notes for millions of people. Both Disney movies were solid, well-liked hits, and yet we’ve yet to see a third and potentially final movie in the franchise. After years of trying to make a third movie, producer Jerry Bruckheimer is now working on a new sequel and a television show for Disney+.
The National Treasure TV Show
A pilot is already written for Disney’s streaming platform. They have other episodes outlined, which wouldn’t follow Benjamin Gates (Nicolas Cage). As Bruckheimer told Collider, the show would follow a younger cast:
“We’re certainly working on one [National Treasure] for streaming and we’re working on one for the big screen. Hopefully, they’ll both come together and we’ll bring you another National Treasure, but they’re both very active….The one for Disney+ is a much younger cast. It’s the same concept but a young cast. The one for theatrical would be the same cast.”
The National Treasure Sequel
For a third movie, director Jon Turteltaub would return to the director’s chair. Turteltaub has been trying to make the sequel for years, but frustratingly, Disney wasn’t interested. They’re too busy with Marvel and their remakes of their animated classics. The studio hasn’t ever made another National Treasure movie a serious priority, but with all of the nostalgia and love for the franchise, a third movie appears more likely these days.
Now that Bob Iger is no longer CEO, maybe the sequel will stand a chance. In 2016, Iger expressed a lack of interest in another National Treasure pic:
We have done two, and yes they were really fine movies. I know Jerry Bruckheimer who produced them has had conversations with our studio a number of times about it, and there have been some developments along the way, but as of right now we have not green-lit as we say, a National Treasure 3.
To be fair to Disney and Iger, Turteltaub himself has said they never got the script for a third movie right. He would make the movie tomorrow if he could, as he’s said for years, but getting the script right has been a problem for the sequel.
The Latest on the Sequel
As for the next potential movie, a new draft is being written right now by Chris Bremner. Bremner co-wrote the very entertaining Bad Boys for Life. With that surprise hit, Bremner wrote a sequel both new and familiar. After reviving that Sony franchise to great success, Bremner is a great choice for the National Treasure franchise. If he could do for National Treasure what he did for Bad Boys, we’re in for a good popcorn movie. Audiences are all about nostalgia and the familiar these days, too, so another National Treasure has great potential.
The Appeal of the National Treasure Franchise
It’s Nicolas Cage, who’s now in talks to play Joe Exotic in a miniseries. The Disney movies let Cage hit some goofier, more playful notes. There’s a total lack of self-seriousness about Benjamin Gates and the overall franchise. They’re fluff, and they know it. In a time when big movies rely heavily on mass destruction and CGI, it’d honestly be refreshing to see a major Disney movie again in which Cage is solving puzzles, cracking jokes, and traveling the world.
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