Disney Is Finally Making the Nicolas Cage Sequel We've Been Waiting 18 Years For

Disney reportedly has plans to continue Nicolas Cage's most memorable action franchise with the first new sequel in almost 20 years. Cage has been a mainstay in the movie scene for decades, known for hits like Face/Off, Con Air, and most recently, the hit 2024 horror movie Longlegs. If a new rumor is to be believed, his most famous set of films to date is getting a new addition.

A new rumor teased that Disney officially started development on National Treasure 3. Known for kicking off with Cage's Benjamin Franklin Gates stealing the Declaration of Independence, National Treasure became a fan-favorite in 2004 before its sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, continued the story in 2007. After fans clamored for the two films to become a trilogy for years, it seems that Disney is finally answering the call.

According to scooper Daniel Richtman, the National Treasure threequel is on the drawing board, and Chris Bremner is attached as a screenwriter. Bremner is best known for his work on the two most recent Bad Boys movies, having written the scripts for 2020's Bad Boys for Life and 2024's Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

This comes after Disney released a 10-episode spin-off series titled National Treasure: Edge of History in December 2022. The series starred Lisette Olivera, Zuri Reed, Antonio Cipriano, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The series also brought back Justin Bartha's Riley Poole and Harvey Keitel's Peter Sadusky, confirming the show's canon with the original movies.

National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets star Nicolas Cage's Benjamin Franklin Gates, an American historian and treasure hunter, going after long-lost fortunes tied to national history and his family's legacy. Alongside Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, and Jon Voight, the first movie features Gates finding a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. In the sequel, his family name is put under fire by claims that his ancestor was a conspirator in Abraham Lincoln's assassination, leading to his search for the missing page of John Wilkes Booth's diary to clear his name. Both movies are streaming on Disney+.

How Could National Treasure 3 Come Together?

Considering how long ago Cage last played Ben Gates, Disney has a treasure trove of options for where the story could go in a third National Treasure movie. However, according to screenwriter Ted Elliott (via the National Treasure Hunt podcast), the previously mentioned Disney+ show will have at least some impact on what happens in the sequel.

After mixed reviews and poor audience reception, Disney canceled the National Treasure: Edge of History series after only one season. Still, those characters could play a role in Benjamin Gates' next treasure hunt with his already-established crew.

Looking back at past storylines, fans are curious to learn more about the mystery of page 47 from the President's Book of Secrets in the second movie, which was mentioned but never revealed. Described to have "life-altering" implications, this could be a natural lead-off point for where Ben Gates is in a third movie, possibly having sought out the answers to that mystery in the time since.

Ben and his wife, Abigail, could also bring more new family members into the fray, with their potential children diving into the same lore and history as their parents. In Edge of History, Bartha's Riley Poole mentioned the couple being married and having a dog, but he did not mention if they were parents.

For now, fans wait for more news on when the movie is announced and when it will be released in theaters, which likely will not be until at least 2026, if not 2027 or later. Anticipation is building to see one of Nicolas Cage's most iconic characters return to the big screen.