History lesson: which treasure does Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nic Cage) use to read a hidden message on the Declaration of Independence in National Treasure? Along with Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), the treasure hunter and cryptologist uses a Benjamin Franklin invention giving him “the vision to see the treasured past”: an ocular device with multi-colored x-ray lenses. Revealing a secret clue on the back of the Declaration, the glasses lead the trio to Trinity Church, and ultimately the location of the long-lost Templar treasure.
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In National Treasure: Edge of History, the upcoming Disney+ sequel series about the next generation of treasure hunters, a piece of the franchise’s own national treasure returns in the form of the handed-down glasses. See them in the images below, captured by ComicBook at the “Journey Into Storytelling” experience on the show floor at this year’s D23 Expo: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
While Cage won’t be reprising his role as treasure hunter Ben Gates in the TV series expansion of the movie franchise, Bartha and National Treasure co-star Harvey Keitel will be returning as their characters.
“If we get a Season 2 we will beg to get [Cage],” Marianne Wibberly, who created the series for television with co-showrunner Cormac Wibberley, previously told EW. “We love the guy. He’s a wonderful person, a great actor. He was our first choice for the Ben Gates character. We never thought of anyone else. He definitely has a big presence in the show.”
15 years after Gate’s last historical adventure in 2007’s National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, the Disney+ series embarks on a new treasure hunt with puzzle solver Jess Morales (Lisette Olivera). National Treasure: Edge of History tells the point of view of its young heroine,a brilliant and resourceful DREAMer in search of answers about her family — who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.
Along with Bartha and Keitel guest-starring as their original characters, the spinoff features a cast that includes Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago, Ocean’s 12) as Billie, a badass billionaire, black-market antiquities expert and treasure hunter who lives by her own code, and Lyndon Smith (Parenthood) as FBI Agent Ross, a dogged investigator who begins to realize there’s a greater conspiracy at hand.
The young cast features Jess’ circle of friends: Zuri Reed (Flatbush Misdemeanors) as Tasha, Jess’ ride-or-die friend who joins the treasure hunt but is forced to reevaluate her belief system to help her best friend; Antonio Cipriano (Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill) as Oren, a lovable but self-obsessed goofball with an encyclopedic knowledge of conspiracy theories that attempts to win back Tasha’s affections; Jordan Rodrigues (Lady Bird) as Ethan, Jess’ childhood best friend who has loved her since the day they met; and Jake Austin Walker (Rectify) as Liam, a swoon-worthy struggling musician with a permanent chip on his shoulder who comes from a long line of treasure hunters.
National Treasure: Edge of History will stream on Disney+, joining the original two films starring Cage on the platform. A release date for the TV series has not been announced.
Pan-American Treasure
A New Book of Secrets
Mystery Box
