Noah Wyle, left, and Bob Newhart co-star in The Librarian 3: Curse of the Judas Chalice.

ERIK HEINILA

Noah Wyle has had to prepare himself for what could be the end of a popular television franchise. No, it is not ER. Although the actor is going back to appear in a few more episodes, he knows the NBC series is coming to an end.

He’s not so certain about his Librarian cable-movie series. TNT is promoting The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice (tomorrow, 8 p.m.), as the third and, if you believe the TNT promotions department, final adventure for Wyle’s character of Flynn Carsen.

“I hope it is not the last,” Wyle says during a telephone interview. “I think saying it is the last movie was more of a marketing decision.”

Wyle, who served as an executive producer on the television movies that also have included The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004) and The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines (2006), always had it in the back of his mind if the cable series built enough fan support it would continue on the big screen. There also has been talk the franchise could become a weekly series.

The Librarian is a little bit of Indiana Jones with a touch of Romancing the Stone and a dash of National Treasure. By day, Flynn is the master of the Dewey Decimal system. But when his expertise is needed in the field, he becomes a world-traveling seeker of ancient artifacts.

The world traveling was a little closer to home this time. A tight budget was the culprit. The lack of money ended up not being as bad as Wyle feared. It forced everyone to be more creative with location, which was how they hit upon the idea of the search for the Judas Chalice, the one thing that can bring back a notorious vampire.

Louisiana became the primary film location. Wyle liked that between the city’s heavy religious influences and the nocturnal subculture, New Orleans provided a rich place to tell an adventure story.

“The city is phenomenal,” Wyle says. “This was my first trip to New Orleans and I had a tremendous time.”

Not only did the city provide the perfect background for the film, it was a chance for the production company to inject some money into the Louisiana economy. Most of the areas outside the city are still trying to rebound from the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

While most of the filming was in the city, Wyle and members of the cast and crew ventured into some of the badly damaged areas. What he saw left him with the feeling there is still a long struggle ahead.

But Wyle has faith in the people of Louisiana.

“I think what impressed me about the state was the people. They all had horrific stories. And yet they had a sense of hope and professionalism that was incredible,” Wyle says.

Wyle also praised his co-stars from the three films. Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin play the bosses who try to keep him safe and under budget. Wyle says he took every opportunity to pepper the pair with questions about television, acting and comedy. He describes working with Newhart and Curtin as like playing tennis with much better opponents.

Since his departure from ER in 2006, Wyle has been working in TV and theatrical films. He’s heard talk The Librarian could become a television series.

“I am reluctant to get enthusiastic. I know how far we had to stretch our dollars to make the movies. If we had to turn this kind of production in week in and week out with the same budget we would be hamstrung.”

As for his other television project, Wyle has not filmed his final ER episodes. But he is looking forward to getting back to the role of Dr. John Carter, even if it’s for the final days of the series.