Disney shared the first trailer for the upcoming National Treasure: Edge of History Disney+ series and spilled more details about the cast during the show’s San Diego Comic-Con panel Thursday. There was one major star completely missing, though. Nicolas Cage wasn’t there, and he also isn’t appearing in the show.
When asked if Cage would be making an appearance at all in the series, National Treasure executive producer Marianne Wibberley had bad news. “We wanted him, but he is very busy,” Wibberley, who co-wrote the original National Treasure movie with her husband Cormac Wibberley and Jim Kouf, told the crowd, reports Variety. Lisette Olivera, who stars as the series’ main character Jess Morales, said she hopes they “maybe” can get Cage back if the show gets a second season.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Although Cage’s Benjamin Franklin Gates will not be in the series, Disney did attract a few stars from the movies. Justin Bartha will be back as computer expert Riley Poole in a guest role. On Thursday, Disney revealed that Harvey Keitel agreed to play FBI Special Agent Peter Sandusky again.
Edge of History will introduce audiences to Jess Morales, a 20-year-old Dreamer who goes on an adventure to find lost Pan-American treasure and discovers shocking secrets about her family during the journey. Catherine Zeta-Jones will star as the villain, billionaire black-market antique dealer Billie. Justin Austin Walker, Antonio Cipriano, Zuri Reed, Lyndon Smith, and Jordan Rodrigues also star. Cormac and Marianne Wibberley wrote the new series, and Mira Nair is the director. National Treasure producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub are executive producers. Disney+ has not announced a premiere date yet.
It would be surprising if Cage did find time to appear in Edge of History since the famously-busy actor has several projects lined up. He recently finished playing Dracula in Renfield, a Universal horror comedy about the titular Dracula henchman scheduled for release in April 2023. Cage also scored some of the best reviews in recent years with Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Cage played Benjamin Franklin Gates in the 2004 National Treasure movie and its 2007 follow-up, National Treasure: Book of Secrets.
In a March interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cage said the opportunity to make a third National Treasure movie or a sequel to Face/Off has long since passed. “It’s been 14 years. There’s no there, there,” Cage said. “So, is it fun to think about? Sure.”
