National Treasure Director Addresses Nicolas Cage's Doubts About Third Movie

Jon Turteltaub thinks Nic Cage is "not keeping his hopes up" about National Treasure 3.

By Jamie Jirak

National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub recently appeared on the National Treasure Hunt podcast, and addressed the possibility of a third film. It's been 17 years since National Treasure: Book of Secrets was released, and fans are eager to see Nicolas Cage return to the role of Benjamin Franklin Gates. During the interview, Turteltaub said a script for the film was being written and added he "100%" hopes to get Cage back. However, he also admitted, "That doesn't mean it will be finished and be great." Cage has previously expressed interest in returning to the franchise, but Turteltaub did note the actor's supposed doubts about the threequel.

"I would start by saying I don't know if he's as pessimistic as you say he is," Turteltaub explained. "And if his quotes seemed pessimistic, sometimes 'cautious' might be a better word. Or 'not keeping his hopes up' is a better way of putting it. One of the reasons Nic feels that way is that he's been making movies for forty years and that's exactly how the movie business goes. Things mostly don't work out."

"So you go from... when you're twenty you have real enthusiasm, 'Your movie's going to get made! Your movie's going to get made!' And then eventually you're like, 'Maybe I don't know. When they tell me to show up for work then I know the movie is getting made.' But I'm not spending energy on thinking, hoping, and getting disappointed later," he continued. 

"So I think what Nic is mostly thinking is, he's heard a thousand times, 'Oh, we're getting it made, we're going to do it. Great, the public wants it.' And then nothing happens. So when it happens, if it happens, he's going to be thrilled. It will be great. And I think we're going to make a good movie from what I can tell," Turteltaub added.

Earlier this year, Cage spoke with Deadline and revealed he was surprised Disney hadn't officially greenlit another National Treasure movie. 

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"Yeah, well, they're a lot of fun," Cage said of making the National Treasure films. "I mean, I enjoy them too, and I think Jon Turteltaub made a couple of classic films for the whole family. I'm still kind of amazed that Disney hasn't wanted to make a third one. I thought the movies brought a lot of joy to the public, and it's certainly interesting about history, and I think all of that is worthwhile filmmaking. You can dig deep and go into the more abstract stuff, like Bringing out the Dead, or Pig or even Dream Scenario, or you can open it up and make a movie that pleases a lot of people and hopefully gives families a chance to escape a little bit from whatever may be going on at home or in the office. I think they're all valid."

Stay tuned for more updates about National Treasure 3. 

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