National Treasure Disney Plus series adds familiar face: Harvey Keitel

The ridiculous yet delightful National Treasure franchise had been mostly dormant since 2007, waiting for the stars to align and reunite producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Jon Turteltaub, and star Nicolas Cage. But then, just two years ago, Bruckheimer told Collider that he was working on a third movie and a TV spinoff. The series, titled National Treasure: Edge of History, offers a more youthful take on treasure hunters. But Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Disney Plus announced that the series will bring back franchise veteran Harvey Keitel.

Keitel co-starred in National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets as Peter Sadusky, a seasoned FBI agent with a soft spot for Benjamin Gates (Cage), a resourceful history buff with a knack for finding long-lost treasure, and his scrappy crew. Keitel will reprise the role in this 10-episode series, but the premiere date is still unknown. The actor’s been dabbling in TV of late: He recently wrapped Mike, a Hulu series about Mike Tyson, and also appeared in Netflix’s The Irishman.

Edge of History will open a new chapter in the franchise — where the 2004 and 2007 movies center on Gates, the TV series will follow Jess Morales (Lisette Olivera), a 20-something DREAMer who also loves puzzles and riddles. Written by Marianne and Cormac Wibberley and directed by Mira Nair, the series will explore the ways that patriotism, identity, and community intersect.

The show also stars Jordan Rodrigues, Zuri Reed, Antonio Cipriano, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. There are even more familiar names and faces mixed in with the new: The Wibberleys wrote the first two movies, and Justin Bartha, who plays Riley Poole in the National Treasure movies, is set to guest-star. Here’s hoping Cage was able to find the time to play mentor to this new group.

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