While there hasn’t been a new National Treasure movie in nearly two decades, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed earlier this week that National Treasure 3 is still very much alive. Bruckheimer revealed that both Nicolas Cage and director Jon Turteltaub will return for the third installment, adding, “We’re getting closer on that one.”
The original National Treasure debuted in 2004, starring Nicolas Cage as treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates who goes on a quest to find the iconic Templar Treasure. The film fared well at the box office ($347.5 million worldwide from a $100 million budget), leading to the 2007 sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets.
While the sequel improved at the box office ($459.2 million from a $130 million budget), a third film has been languishing for years, though now it seems there may be some movement on it. While we wait for more details to surface for the third National Treasure movie, it’s worth exploring some real hidden fortunes that could be used for the sequel.
D.B. Cooper’s Hidden Cash in Washington State
Yes, the still-missing cash (nearly $200,000) was a major part of the 2004 comedy Without a Paddle, but D.B. Cooper’s hijacking and skydiving exit from a moving plane, only to vanish and never be seen again, remains one of America’s most enduring mysteries. The man hijacked a flight from Portland to Seattle on November 24, 1971.
Cooper claimed he had a bomb on board, demanding $200,000 ransom and four parachutes, which were delivered in Seattle. He then directed the flight crew to fly to Mexico City, though shortly after takeoff, he used one of the parachutes and jumped out of the plane, never to be seen or heard from again.
However, a strange break in the case came in 1980, when an eight-year-old boy named Brian Ingram discovered a packet with $5,800 bills from the ransom on the Columbia River. The rest of the money was never recovered and D.B. Cooper’s whereabouts and true idenтιтy still remain a mystery, and it’s a perfect case for Gates to tackle.
Missing Faberge Eggs
Russian jewelry firm House of Faberge started created their now-iconic Faberge eggs in 1885, the first being gift to Emperor Alexander III’s wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna. That led to Faberge being named the official goldsmith of Russian empire, and between 1885 and 1917, 52 of these eggs were created. However, the whereabouts are currently unknown for six of those 52 eggs.
After Vladimir Lenin took over the Kremlin in 1917, the Faberge family fled to Switzerland, and Lenin’s successor Joseph Stalin sold several eggs in 1927, some to American industrialist Armand Hammer, who brought them to the United States. Forbes Magazine publisher Malcolm Forbes also obtained nine of the eggs and put them on display in New York City.
One of the eggs sold in 2007 for $16.5 million, and Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg paid a whopping $100 million for the nine eggs and roughly 180 other Fabrege items at auction in 2004. Faberge eggs have been featured in multiple movies such as Game Night and Red Notice, but it could provide an intriguing mystery for Gates to solve.
A Maine Pirate Treasure With a Captain Jack Sparrow Connection
The residents of Machiasport, Maine may be sitting on a legitimate fortune that dates back to 1716, connected to a pirate named Samuel Bellamy, who has been rumored to be the inspiration for Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Bellamy built a home in this small town that also included a mᴀssive underground vault to store his treasures.
The vault was built, according to WCYY, at the mouth of the Machias River, which is rumored to hold millions of dollars worth of treasure. After building the vault, Bellamy set sail in search of more valuables, only to be captured and hanged to death in Mᴀssachusetts, leaving his treasure undiscovered. It’s surely a treasure hunt Gates could relish.
King Kamehameha’s Burial Chamber Treasure in Hawaii
The first true king of Hawaii — who Dwayne Johnson has been trying to portray for years — united all the islands together in 1810, ruling for nine years before his death in 1819 at 61. It is believed that he was laid to rest in a burial chamber with a fortune of gold and jewels that was never found.
One reason this could be perfect for Gates and the National Treasure crew is that there already is a perfect clue! An ancient Hawaiian proverb reads: “The morning star alone knows where Kamehameha’s bones are guarded.” A fortune buried for centuries and a tantalizing clue like this are more than enough to get the Gates crew involved.
Spanish Pirate Gold Off The Oregon Coast
While pirate gold and Oregon sounds more like a case for The Goonies, who sas the Gates treasure crew couldn’t tackle this? A Spanish ship was reportedly downed near the Neahkahnie Mountain on the Oregon coast, sending its treasures into the ocean. Portland Monthly reported that the legend was used to try and entice folks to buy land in 1912.
The treasure was never found, though it still lures would-be treasure hunters to the area to this day. This tale has just enough history, intrigue and, of course, vast amounts of treasure wealth to make it worth for Benjamin Gates to take a trip to the Oregon coast.
John Dillinger’s Buried Treasure in Wisconsin
Notorious gangster John Dillinger was portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 2009 film Public Enemies, which showcases the famous FBI ambush and shootout at the Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin in 1934. However, legend has it that DIllinger escaped the shootout carrying a briefcase containing an estimated $200,000, and buried the briefcase somewhere in the backyard.
Dillinger was sH๏τ and killed just three months later in Chicago, with his buried treasure still somewhere beneath the northern Wisconsin Earth to this day. While it may seem uncouth for this family-friendly treasure hunter to go after a gangster’s stolen loot, it could be an interesting angle for the Gates crew to take.
Pirate Bounty in Hawaii’s Palemano Point
While this has no connection to Captain Jack Sparrow, it does connect to a real famous pirate – Captain Thomas Cavendish, a privateer simply known as “The Navigator.” It was rumored that he buried upwards of $5 million worth of treasure at Panemano Point, an exposed reef off of the big island of Hawaii.
It’s possible that after all their adventures, the Gates family simply takes a vacation to Hawaii, and along the way learn about this buried treasure and simply can’t help themselves, taking it upon themselves to find this treasure that has been lost for centuries. While buried treasure doesn’t have the exciting ancient gadgets they could make it work.
Stagecoach Robbery Gold in Idaho
Idaho certainly isn’t a glamorous state, or a state one would think of when it comes to treasure, but there’s reportedly millions of dollars worth of gold buried somewhere in the Pontneuf Canyon. The Picket Coral Gang robbed the Overland Stage Line coach in July 1865. The stagecoach was transporting several pᴀssengers, along with two strong boxes.
The strong boxes were holding 15 gold bars plus gold nuggets and gold dust, which were taken in the heist. Several pᴀssengers were executed during the robbery, but survivors reportedly fled to a nearby town and identified the gang as the culprits. While it may be a stretch to bring the Gates’ to Idaho, it’s an enduring mystery worth solving.
Blackbeard’s Treasure Off The Atlantic Coast
Blackbeard has been portrayed numerous times on the big and small screen (including Ray Stevenson above in Black Sails), arguably one of the most iconic pirates of all time. He reportedly often boasted of having buried treasure throughout his travels, but when he was killed in 1718, the location of his buried loot died with him.
This mystery is actually quite perfect for the Gates crew, since there is no one rumored location, and it could be anywhere Blackbeard steered his iconic ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge. The quest could take Gates from far-flung reaches of the Caribbean to many more exotic locales, which could be perfect for a cinematic adventure.
Old Spanish Treasure Cave in Arkansas
Legend has it that, as far back as the 1700s, Spanish conquistadors hid their gold loot in this mᴀssive cave in the Ozark Mountains in northwest Arkansas. The cave — now known as the Old Spanish Treasure Cave — has been a tourist attraction since 1908, and while many artifacts tied to the Spanish have been found over the years, the rumored treasure has not.
Given the rich history of the cave, and the treasure rumored to be worth upwards of $40 million, it seems like the perfect adventure for the Gates family to tackle in National Treasure 3. Still, no story details have been confirmed, but hopefully, if the production truly is “moving closer,” we’ll learn more very soon.
