A new Disney+ venture based on the Nicolas Cage film, National Treasure, is set to take off. The production is planned as a series that follows in the footsteps of the famed treasure hunter and will witness Lisette Alexis Olivera helming the lead protagonist’s role as Jess, a DREAMer. Although the show will not see the return of Nicolas Cage in his role as Ben Gates, the events do take place in the same timeline. The reboot series is titled National Treasure: Edge of History.
The pilot episode of the series will be directed by the Indian filmmaker, Mira Nair, director of movies such as The Namesake, Queen of Katwe, A Suitable Boy, and Amelia. Although the SDCC ’22 offered a teaser, the cast line-up, and other information about the series, a release date has not been disclosed yet.
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SDCC 2022 Updates On National Treasure: Edge of History
Apart from the return of Justin Bartha as Riley Poole and Harvey Keitel as Sadusky, the series will have a completely new cast. Lisette Alexis Olivera serves as protagonist Jess who has “a brilliant and resourceful mind” with a “natural talent for solving puzzles”. Catherine Zeta-Jones will appear as the series antagonist and Lyndon Smith plays FBI Agent Ross trying to redeem her career.
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Jess is accompanied by her team that comprises Tasha — social media personality and tech whiz (Zuri Reed), Oren — class clown and resident conspiracy theorist (Antonio Cipriano), Ethan — the ethically conscious best friend (Jordan Rodrigues), and Liam — a struggling musician with an ancestral heritage as a treasure hunter (Jake Austin Walker).
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Marianne and Cormac Wibberley Talk About Nic Cage
At the San Diego Comic-Con, the writers voiced their wish to have the original star appear in the new series, even if that accounted for a transitory cameo. Speaking of Cage, Marianne Wibberley told Deadline:
“We’re going to beg and plead and whatever. We’ll have him in two seconds. He’s our favorite actor out of everyone. We pitched him as Ben Gates before he was Ben Gates. He was our first choice.”
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The original scriptwriters of the first two Nicolas Cage-starring National Treasure movies, Marianne and Cormac Wibberley are returning to write the series production of the franchise. Picked up by Disney+, the series will be executive produced by the Wibberleys and Jerry Bruckheimer, who had also produced the Nic Cage films.
Source: Deadline Hollywood
