Justin Bartha Discusses Possibility of Third NATIONAL TREASURE Film, Says ‘There’s Still Hope’

Actor Justin Bartha started in National treasure franchise when the first film was made in 2004, and returned for the 2007 sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Now he reprises his role in the Disney+ series National Treasure: Edge of Historybut it took him a while to get on board even though he always hoped for a third film in the series.

He recently spoke about the series and the promising third future film with Variety, and when asked if he’d ever considered where Riley Poole might be now 15 years after the last film, Bartha said:

Not exactly! But in a narrative sense, we’ve been trying to get the third film off the ground for quite a while. Jon Turtletaub, the director of those films, and I used to write some stuff together and tinker with what a third of the series would look like. So there were moments where we asked what exactly was going on in the world and what that meant for the treasure they were going to seek. But we never got to the point of answering questions like, is he married or anything like that.

When asked if Bartha was surprised that the franchise went with a series instead of a third film, he replied:

I was skeptical at first, if I’m being honest. But when I looked past my initial skepticism, I was excited to see what it would be. Now I have kids and I’m really desperate for something to watch with them. We made the original “National Treasure” nearly 20 years ago, and those two movies are basically the only two movies I’ve ever made that my kids can watch. Being able to make something my daughters can watch was what got me over the skepticism. And I’ve known the Wibberleys for a long time, and Jon and Jerry were involved. I knew the heart was in the right place and they would respect the spirit of the franchise. To be honest, I didn’t jump on board right away. But after talking to them and looking at my daughters, it was hard to turn away.

When asked if the reference to Riley’s “Page 47” in the series, which was taken from the second film, was a tease for the potential third film, Bartha said:

The reference was something I put there when we were shooting. I just had to. But listen, there’s still hope for another movie. Obviously Nic is doing great, one of the greatest ever. Jerry just had a big hit with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and he’s doing great. And the steady drum beat from fans for a third film makes it a no-brainer for me.

When asked if the Wibberleys ever told him what was on page 47, Bartha quipped:

Oh, I know everything but I can’t tell you. You’ll need to write to your local Disney rep and have the film made to find out.

You hope for a third National treasure movie?