Actor Nicolas Cage confirmed there will not be another National Treasure movie.
“No, there is no National Treasure 3,” Cage said in an interview with Screen Rant, squashing the rumor mill about the chances of the film.
He added, “If you want to find treasure, don’t look at Disney, OK? It’s not there.”
Cage famously played a treasure hunter Ben Franklin Gates, who stole the Declaration of Independence in 2004’s National Treasure, which was a box office success. Three years later, the film had the sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The third National Treasure film was in development in 2008 but has yet to come to fruition.
Disney+ had attempted a television series National Treasure: Edge of History that featured a new cast of characters without Cage and was quickly axed after one season.
Cage’s IMDB filmography page confirms that he has no current plans to make the franchise a trilogy. His latest project is Arcadian, apocalyptic end of the world drama, which is set to come out on Apr. 12.
On Sunday, Cage was seen as a presenter at the Academy Awards for the Best Actor category. While he praised fellow actor Paul Giamatti’s method acting and dedication in The Holdovers, he made a joke about his own acting style.
“Nicholas Cage is a national treasure,” a fan said on social media in response to his humorous speech at the Oscars.
Cage’s remark about not looking “at Disney” raises questions about why it would not embrace a highly profitable franchise with an iconic star whose acting range in drama and satire has made him a universally beloved Hollywood star.
“Huge fumble by Disney. National Treasure 3 could have 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and so long as the trailer has Nic Cage say something insane like ‘FDR’s wheelchair isn’t just a wheelchair, it’s a map’ I am there opening night,” a social media user commented.
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Disney struggled in 2023 with a streak of box office flops that included Wish, Ant-Man, Wasp, The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Haunted Mansion, and The Marvels. Disney CEO Bob Iger blamed the box office disappointments as having “too many” sequels being released last year.
Disney also waged social justice wars in 2022 with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). The brand took a larger hit in subscriptions and revenue after videos of multiple Disney officials were obtained and posted to social media by journalist Christopher Rufo, who exposed a woke agenda in the company’s editorial and entertainment production choices. The company saw a loss of $1.4 billion in the company’s Q4 of 2022.
