It's a question that has plagued our nation since 2008. Where the hell is National Treasure 3? In a new video interview with Collider, Disney Production Executive Jason Reed confirmed that a third movie was always in his plans. “I tried my damnedest to get National Treasure 3 up. I love those movies. I worked on those from inception,” he stated. So what exactly went down?

“What I felt happened is even though the movies were extremely successful and had a really strong fanbase, it’s a movie that gets brought up all the time, the company was never able to capitalize on it as a franchise,” Reed continued. “It was more of a movie with a sequel and National Treasure 3 would have been another sequel.” So basically, Disney couldn't find a way to get fans to buy National Treasure merch. Lots of of people would wear a shirt with Pirates of the Caribbean’s Jack Sparrow on it, but not as many would wear one with Nicolas Cage holding the Declaration of Independence.

Reed also cited Disney’s failure to integrate the series into the parks as a reason to hold off on a third movie. A National Treasure attraction would definitely have felt at home in Disney World’s Liberty Square. A National Treasure: Book of Secrets attraction could have even been a good fit for Adventureland, but good luck trying to kick Indiana Jones Adventure or Tarzan’s Treehouse out of there. The bigger franchises, in fact, are what’s keeping Disney from focusing on National Treasure. “It makes it harder to make a company like Disney focus resources on something when they can go make Toy Story or buy a cruise ship,” Reed explained.

Now, over a decade later, it could finally be time for the series to return. Reed suggested that new technology could make the National Treasure series more relevant in the form of location-based gameplay like Pokemon-Go. “I know Jerry [Bruckheimer] keeps working on stuff and I know there’s a lot of interest in a series in another feature,” he said. Back in May, Disney announced that a National Treasure Disney+ series was in the works, in addition to National Treasure 3. We have no idea when these projects will come to fruition. But one way or another, we just have to find out what’s on Page 47. The future of our country depends on it.

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