Jon Turteltaub Explains 'National Treasure 3' Status

National Treasure 3 will remain a mystery according to the franchise's first two films' director Jon Turteltaub.

Turteltaub's latest effort, The Meg (which pits Jason Statham and friends against a giant shark) is gearing up for an August release. With production on the Warner Brothers in his rearview mirror, Turteltaub is all but ready to go back to work with Nicolas Cage but the studios just aren't behind it yet.

"It's a no," Turteltaub said. "I would love there to be. Nic is like, in wardrobe right now. Jerry Bruckheimer is ready to go. We would love to do."

In order to get National Treasure 3 made, someone will have to "come up with about 80 million dollars to have it made," the director says.

As for The Meg, Turteltaub put his thrilling suspense chops on display by forcing Statham and others into uncharted waters with a megalodon. While the giant shark does do its fair share of devouring living creatures ranging from humans to whales, there were plenty of moments Turteltaub could not get away with for the PG-13 flick.

"Everything!" Turteltaub said when asked if he had to scrap any ideas to preserve a more family-friendly environment. "There were parts of bodies that were around with a lot of blood. You would see an actor later on and fight out it was just their head but it didn't fly."

The hero, Statham, did have to endure some intense and tight moments in production. "You never know what the edit's gonna be," Statham said. We had some tight situations. To tip the boat was a difficult thing. We didn't know how that was gonna work out."

"A massive creature attacks a deep-sea submersible, leaving it disabled and trapping the crew at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean," the synopsis for The Meg reads. "With time running out, rescue diver Jonas Taylor must save the crew and the ocean itself from an unimaginable threat -- a 75-foot-long prehistoric shark known as the Megalodon."

The Meg hits theaters on August 10, 2018.