Benjamin Franklin Gates still has plenty more to uncover.
It's been 15 years since the last National Treasure movie, but in an exclusive interview with E! News, Jerry Bruckheimer teased that a third film starring Nicolas Cage as treasure hunter protector and cryptographer Gates is very much in development.
The mega-producer let the news slip while discussing the new National Treasure spinoff series National Treasure: Edge of History, which is now streaming on Disney+.
"We said we'd like to make another National Treasure and they said, ‘Sure, let's come up with a new cast,'" Bruckheimer said. "At the same time, we were developing National Treasure for the theaters with Nicolas Cage—which we still are. So, that's ongoing."
In 2018, screenwriter Jon Turteltaub told Collider that a script for a potential third film—a follow-up to 2004's National Treasure and its 2007 sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets—was finished, but that money was holding everything up.
Thankfully, all signs are pointing to some positive progress being made—just look at Edge of History, which features two characters from the franchise reprising their roles. In addition to Harvey Keitel returning as former FBI agent Peter Sadusky, Justin Bartha, who plays Ben Gates' BFF and partner Riley Poole pops up.
And he hints that the dynamic duo are still collaborating, noting, "Ben and I have been working on this super important thing for the last three, four, 15 years."
As for what that super important thing might be?
"Let's just say," Riley teases, "there's 47 reasons to be interested."
As National Treasure fans know, that's a direct reference to the second film, in which the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood) tells Ben about a mysterious page 47 in the titular Book of Secrets, but its contents are never revealed to the audience.
So, it certainly sounds like a third film is in order.
In the meantime, National Treasure: Edge of History—as well as both National Treasure films—is available to stream on Disney+.