By Defne Sastim
Disney dropped their teaser trailer on Thursday at SDCC for the upcoming Disney+ National Treasure: Edge of History series. This is the first update in the National Treasure franchise since the sequel in 2007, and the series format with a fresh cast is sure to be a game changer.
Keeping with the National Treasure tradition, the series weaves together American history and treasure hunting in a fun, funny, and thrilling adventure. The exciting sneak peek and behind the scenes footage showed a brand new cast, and some returning fan favorites. Missing from the reboot of the series 15 years after the latest installment is Nicholas Cage in his iconic role as Ben Gates – and fans are already expressing their disappointment on Twitter.
Watching new National Treasure content without Nic Cage
pic.twitter.com/IS7QX3AQM0— Chris Buie (@filmstocked) July 21, 2022
National Treasure without Nic Cage is like Batman with no Batman https://t.co/orXBZtkP4T
— Ben (@benbusssss) July 22, 2022
Instead, the series follows Lisette Olivera starring as Jess Morales- a 22 year old DREAMer that seizes the opportunity of a lifetime when she stumbles across a pan-American treasure hunt. Along for the adventure is Zuri Reed as Jess’s social media savvy best friend; Jordan Rodrigues as Ethan, Jess’s childhood best friend and maybe more; Antonio Cipriano as Oren, the group’s resident conspiracy theorist; and Jake Austin Walker as Liam, a musician and potential love interest for Jess. This group of friends won’t be the only ones after the treasure, however- Catherine Zeta-Jones joins as Billie, a billionaire black market antiques expert, and another new face will be Lyndon Smith as Agent Ross, a plucky FBI agent. Returning to the franchise are Justin Bartha as Riley Poole and Harvey Keitel as Agent Peter Sadusky.
Speaking at the SDCC panel on Thursday, writers Marianne and Cormac Wibberly recalled the origin of the new Disney+ series, a spark lit from the idea of a young immigrant woman studying American History for her citizenship test, exploring American History from an immigrant’s perspective. Even with this new approach, both cast and the Wibberleys expressed their hope for Nicholas Cage to join the project in the future. If the persistent rumors about a third National Treasure movie are right, we might be seeing more of Ben Gates in this franchise yet.
For now, though, catch a behind-the-scenes exclusive look at National Treasure: Edge of History below.
Miss any of The Beat’s earlier SDCC ’22 Coverage? Find it all here!
