Jon Turteltaub confirms National Treasure 3 is in development with Nicolas Cage

Director Jon Turteltaub confirmed on Friday 21 August that National Treasure 3 is in development at Disney, with actor Nicolas Cage expected to return, during a live podcast taping in Philadelphia.

TL;DR

• Turteltaub said a script is in place and Disney has responded positively.
• Cage is expected to return as Ben Gates, but no deal has been announced.
• Disney has made no formal announcement, and there is no release date or official trailer.
• Disney+ UK plans start at £5.99 a month with ads.

What Turteltaub said in Philadelphia

Turteltaub, who directed the first two films, made the announcement at a live taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast, according to TheWrap.

He said a script is in the works with Disney’s endorsement. TheWrap reported that original stars, including Cage, are in talks to return.

Turteltaub was blunt about Cage’s importance to the project. “Nic gets hit by a bus, there’s no National Treasure,” he said.

What Disney has and hasn’t confirmed

Disney has not made a formal announcement, and no production start or release date has been revealed, according to Comic Basics. The taping took place during the city’s first National Treasure Weekend, a fan event hosted by Disney.

Screen & Story found no official teaser trailer from Disney. Videos labelled as one, and any plot details attached to them, should be treated as unverified.

Turteltaub has also teased that the sequel will address the Page 47 cliffhanger from 2007’s Book of Secrets, per the same Comic Basics report.

Why the sequel matters now

The 2004 original earned $347 million worldwide, while Book of Secrets took $459 million, according to TheWrap. Both rank among Cage’s highest-grossing live-action films.

The Disney+ spinoff Edge of History arrived in 2022 and ran for one season. It did not include Cage.

Nostalgia is driving plenty of studio decisions right now. Netflix recently put another legacy sequel with its original cast into production, and Disney has been busy too, with its D23 announcements this summer.

What UK fans need to know

UK viewers revisiting the earlier films will find Disney+ plans at £5.99 a month with ads, £9.99 for standard ad-free and £14.99 for premium, as of March 2026, according to TechRadar.

No UK release date exists for National Treasure 3, because Disney has not set one anywhere.

Reported from publicly available interviews and verified press sources. Last reviewed 13 October 2026.