National Treasure: Edge of History Writers Really Want Nicolas Cage to Return

By Charlie Ridgely

Disney is continuing the National Treasure franchise this year with the new TV series National Treasure: Edge of History. The show won't follow Nicolas Cage's beloved Benjamin Gates character, but it does take place in the same world and timeline, as characters like Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) have already been confirmed to appear. The door is being left wide open for Cage to come back in some capacity, and the Edge of History creative team are making known their wish to have Ben Gates back on the screen.

Cormac and Marianne Wibberley wrote the scripts for both National Treasure movies and they've returned to the franchise to serve as writers and executive producers on Edge of History. When Deadline caught up with the duo at San Diego Comic-Con, they said they were ready to beg Cage to reprise his role.

"We're going to beg and plead and whatever," Marianne said. "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."

National Treasure: Edge of History follows a new story with a mostly new cast of characters. Lisette Alexis stars in the series as Jess, a DREAMer who knows that there is more to her family than she's been told. She has been described as a "brilliant ad resourceful mind" who loves a good mystery and has a "natural talent for solving puzzles." The cast also includes Lyndon Smith, Zuri Reed, Jake Austin Walker, Antonio Cipriano, and Jordan Rodrigues. Catherine Zeta-Jones will be portraying the series antagonist. 

Smith is playing FBI Agent Ross, an operative searching for redemption after a terrible mistake nearly ended her career. Reed takes on the role of Tasha, a social media personality, tech genius, and very close high school friend of Jess (Alexis). Rodrigues stars as Ethan, Jess' best friend, who has a hard time breaking the rules. Cipriano plays Oren, a class clown who knows a thing or two about conspiracy theories. Walker is set to play Liam, a struggling musician who comes from a long line of treasure hunters.

Jerry Bruckheimer is returning to executive produce the National Treasure TV series after producing the two Nicolas Cage films for Disney. He's joined by original director Jon Turteltaub and writers Marianne and Cormac Wibberly. The two Wibberlys will be writing the pilot episode of the TV series with Rick Muirragui. Mira Nair is set to direct the debut. 

Are you excited for the debut of National Treasure: Edge of History on Disney+? Let us know in the comments!

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