Despite thefranchise’s hit status and popularity, there hasn’t been aNational Treasuremovie since 2007, and there hasn’t been any indication that Disney has any interest changing that. Even though the original film and its sequel were very successful, and a potential third movie was teased by the director and producer, nothing ever materialized. NowMulanproducer Jason Reed reveals why Ben Gates never went looking for more historical booty.
From Reed’s perspective, the problem was twofold. The first issue was thatNational Treasurenever really felt like a franchise. “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. It was more of a movie with a sequel andNational Treasure 3would have been another sequel." Essentially, it seems that the IP never had the blockbuster ambitionsof something likePirates of the CaribbeanorStar Wars, and Disney wasn’t interested.
RELATED:National Treasure TV Series Announced for Disney+
The other issue is more surprising. Reed continues: “They never figured out a way to intergrade it into the parks. It never caught on, even though there were a lot of consumer products, it never caught on as an independent franchise. That makes the numbers look different. It makes it harder to make a company like Disney focus resources on something when they can go makeToy Storyor buy a cruise ship." It is worth noting that majority of Disney’s profit comes not from films,but theme parks and merchandise. So even though people love the movies, Disney’s inability to spin out related merchandise and experiences makeNational Treasurea less enticing venture for them.
However, this is all no reason to despair. In fact, Reed insists that the time is ripe for a third film, supposedly already in the works. “But I know Jerry [Bruckheimer] keeps working on stuff and I know there’s a lot of interest in a series and another feature and I think it’s ripe to reinvent.” So perhaps fans won’t be deprived of a newNational Treasureforever, as long as Reed has something to say about it.
