Nicolas Cage Says He Never Agreed to ‘National Treasure 3,' Pitches Epstein Files Sequel Instead

Ha, so much for that.

Back in August, director Jon Turteltaub had told fans at a live podcast taping in Philadelphia that "National Treasure 3" was finally happening, with Nicolas Cage. He also said a script had been completed and approved by both him and Disney. The headlines were everywhere. Turns out, nobody told Nic.

Speaking at New York Comic Con on Saturday, during a break from shooting "Perish," Cage made it pretty clear he's not on board, at least not yet. After revealing he might do a season of "True Detective,” he took a not-so-subtle shot at Turteltaub (via THR)

Like Jonathan Turteltaub, he gets a microphone in his hand and he goes to Philadelphia and says, “We're doing National Treasure 3, and Nic's coming.” I'm like, “No, I didn't sign up for that.”

You got to get these microphones out of these directors' hands. We'll see if I want to get together with it.

So what would it take? Cage, a national treasure himself and an actor who never phones it in, had an answer ready for the "National Treasure" movie he'd actually make:

Ben Gates is going after the Epstein files. That would be relevant. I'll make that movie.

Honestly? I'd buy a ticket. Hollywood's going to make an Epstein movie eventually. Disney might as well fold it into ‘National Treasure’: Nic Cage breaks into the archives to steal the files. Optimal IP usage. Sold.

Of course, Cage's comments don't necessarily mean ‘National Treasure 3’ is dead. The script exists, Disney reportedly likes it, and the franchise has real pull — ‘Book of Secrets’ outgrossed the original, earning $460M worldwide in 2007. Still, Cage might want a rewrite before he signs on.