Nicolas Cage Says NT3 ‘Probably Not’ Happening, Justin Bartha Joins Disney+ Series

Justin Bartha is reprising his role from the movie franchise in National Treasure on Disney+, per Deadline. Bartha will return as Riley Poole opposite stars Lisette Alexis as Jess Morales and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Billie. Disney+’s National Treasure, from Disney Branded Television’s for Disney+ produced by ABC Signature, is an expansion of the original movie franchise. The series centers on Jess, described as “a brilliant and resourceful dreamer,” who goes on the adventure of her lifetime to “uncover the truth about her family’s mysterious past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.”

Bartha first played the role of Riley in 2004’s National Treasure. Riley is a cynical computer expert who helps cryptographer and treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates, played by Nicolas Cage, uncover historical relics. Then, in 2007, Bartha reprised his role as Riley in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, teaming up with Cage’s Gates to go treasuring hunting in Europe. The Jewish actor is also known for his role in the 2007 indie comic-drama Holy Rollers, Driven, The Good FIght, The New Normal and Dark Horse. However, he may be best known for his work in Todd Phillips’ The Hangover trilogy.

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National Treasure will also star Zuri Reed as Tasha, Jordan Rodrigues as Ethan, Antonio Cipriano as Oren, and Jake Austin Walker as Liam. Lyndon Smith will play FBI Agent Ross.

Principal photography for the National Treasure series started on February 12, 2022, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mira Nair is directing and executive producing. Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, Jerry Bruckheimer, KristieAnne Reed, Jonathan Littman are executive producing the series alongside Rick Muirragui, who also serves as a writer. Jon Turteltaub, who also directed the first two movies, is also an executive producer.

Nicolas Cage Says National Treasure 3 ‘Probably Not’ Happening

Reddit

National Treasure film fans have been waiting a long time for the third installment in the franchise. In 2008 after Book of Secrets came out, Turteltaub said the people behind the films were taking their time with the third film and six months later, Bruckheimer confirmed that National Treasure 3 was in development. However, Disney eventually scrapped the project because of the underwhelming box office performance of a few of his movies.

Cage once compared Disney to an ocean liner, saying, “Once they go in a certain direction, you’ve got to get a million tugboats to try and swivel it back around.” It appears that Disney has at least partially changed its tune in the years since Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Ghost Rider’s disappointing box office runs, as Disney is now producing the National Treasure Disney+ series.

However, the news doesn’t look good for fans still hoping to see a third installment of the film franchise. In a recent Reddit AMA, or “Ask Me Anything,” Cage addressed whether fans can ever expect a third installment of the franchise. When a fan asked if National Treasure 3 was ever going to happen, the Gates actor responded, “No, the priority was to turn it into a TV show, so I would say probably not.”

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Rebecca Kaplan
(155 Articles Published)

Rebecca Kaplan (she/he) has a JD and an MS but believes comics do more good than law. His work can be found at Prism Comics, MovieWeb, Geek Girl Authority, PanelxPanel, StarTrek.com and Comics Bookcase, and in Double Challenge: Being LGBTQ and a Minority, which she co-authored with his wife, Avery Kaplan.

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