Photo: Robert Zuckerman/Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
Justin Barthais giving fans hope about a potentialNational Treasure 3.
The Hangoveractor said in an interview withVarietythis week that “there is still hope for another movie” in theNational Treasuretrilogy, adding that “the constant drum beat from fans for a third movie just makes it a no-brainer for me.”
Regarding a script for the third film, Bartha toldVarietyhe “had seen something a while ago and it was solid.” (In January 2020, it was reported that athirdNational Treasurefilm was in the works after more than a decade since the franchise’s last movie.)
“There is a script. That’s all I’ll say. There have been a few different scripts, actually, but the one thing that has to happen is for all the stars to align,” Bartha, 44, said.
Bartha also commented on leading manNicolas Cageand producerJerry Bruckheimer’s potential involvement in the third movie given their recent career successes. “Nic [Cage] is obviously doing great, one of the greatest ever. Jerry [Bruckheimer] just had a big hit withTop Gun: Maverick, and he is doing great,” Bartha said.
Last week, Bruckheimer confirmed toE! Newsthat a third movie is, in fact, in development.
“We said we’d like to make anotherNational Treasureand they said, ‘Sure, let’s come up with a new cast,’ " Bruckheimer said. “At the same time, we were developingNational Treasurefor the theaters with Nicolas Cage — which we still are. So that’s ongoing.”
Robert Zuckerman/Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
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When asked about a possibleFace/Offsequel, Cage brought up theNational Treasurefranchise too,tellingThe Hollywood Reporterin March: “I have not heard hide nor hair about it. So often these things we read about are just conjecture without any base or foundation to it. I feel the same aboutNational Treasure 3. It’s been 14 years. There’s no there, there. So, is it fun to think about? Sure.”
In March 2021, 15 years afterNational Treasure: Book of Secrets— the sequel to the original 2004 film — premiered in 2007,Disney+ ordered a 10-episode original seriesbased on the franchise, titledNational Treasure: Edge of History. The show starsCatherine-Zeta Jonesand Lisette Olivera, with Bruckheimer serving as a producer.
Bartha reprised his role as Riley Poole, Ben Gates' (Cage) friend and ally on his quest to find a collection of treasures lost since the 19th century.
“Jon Turtletaub, the director of those movies, and I would, back in the day, write some stuff together and tinker around with what a third in the series would look like,” he continued. “So there were times where we asked what exactly is going on in the world and what that meant for the treasure they would be hunting.”
While Bartha said he “just had to” throw in a reference to the major cliffhanger of what was on page 47 of the sequel’s titular book of secrets while filming the Disney+ series — which many havespeculated could be the subject ofNational Treasure 3— no details about the plot of the third movie have been confirmed.
Bartha went on to praise hisNational Treasuredirector, adding that it is ideally up to Turtletaub to bring the third movie to life.
“The unsung hero of these movies that doesn’t get mentioned as much is Jon Turtletaub. Those movies really are an extension of his being,” Bartha said. “He is very smart and funny and has a buoyancy to him that mirrors the tone of the movies. I think he has to feel really comfortable and feel like he can see the movie before it happens — and it is getting closer to that.”
The twoNational Treasurefilms also starred Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Ed Harris and Bruce Greenwood.
National Treasure: Edge of Historyis now streaming on Disney+.
source: people.com
