Free Willy 3: The Rescue is a 1997 American family film directed by Sam Pillsbury and written by John Mattson. Released by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment banner, it is the sequel to Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home in addition to being the third film in the Free Willy franchise and final installment of the original storyline as well as the last to be released theatrically. Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg reprise their roles from the previous films while Annie Corley, Vincent Berry and Patrick Kilpatrick joined the cast. The story revolves around Jesse and Randolph attempting to stop a group of whalers, led by its ruthless captain, from illegally hunting Willy while secretly receiving help from an unlikely source involving the captain's young son after an accident changed his view on whales. Filming took place in British Columbia from July 31 to October 10, 1996, where several scenes were shot in Vancouver, Pitt Lake, Britannia Beach, Squamish and Howe Sound.[3][4] The film is dedicated to Free Willy co-writer Keith A. Walker who died two months after production was completed. Free Willy 3: The Rescue premiered on August 8, 1997. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing $3.4 million.