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The epic story of action, adventure, and history that is National Treasure is back, with a new story and a new treasure-hunting puzzle to solve. Rather than releasing with a third movie, the National Treasure crew is switching things up with a ten-episode series in which the audience discovers clues and attempts to figure out the puzzle along with the characters on screen. National Treasure: Edge of History will be a new take on the action-packed story, diving deep into pieces of pan-American history that the Gates team has never examined.
If you’re looking to learn more about the upcoming National Treasure series, then this article will be your secret map, and you don’t even need to rub lemons on it. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. We’ve put together the clues, found the relics, and solved the ciphers to find all the information you need to know before National Treasure: Edge of History is released.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on December 11 to include details about the promotional treasure hunt.
When Will National Treasure: Edge of History Be Released?
During the series' presentation at D23, the official release date for the series was unveiled, and it's not too far away, the first two episodes of National Treasure: Edge of History will launch on Disney+ on December 14, 2022. From there, the episodes will release weekly on the service. While Disney+'s most popular original series has been their Star Wars and Marvel shows, the last few months of 2022 will bring original series based on other hit film franchises alongside National Treasure, including Willow and The Santa Clauses.
Is There A Trailer For National Treasure: Edge of History?
The seventeen-second teaser trailer leaves a lot to the imagination, revealing the series star after flashing artifacts new and old across the screen. The relics of the National Treasure films being shown on screen hint that these artifacts and the stories surrounding them will be revisited.
Additionally, a behind-the-scenes featurette was simultaneously released with the trailer, giving viewers a little more background on the new story and characters. Behind the scenes' footage is shown depicting a battle scene that could possibly be the Mexican-American war of 1846, based on the military uniforms and weapons visible in the shot. A female soldier, with flowing curly hair is seen at the forefront. This woman will likely be the ancestor our lead character is looking to learn about.
The official trailer for National: Treasure: Edge of History was unveiled on September 10, 2022, during a presentation at D23. The trailer prominently features Harvey Keitel, reprising his role as Agent Peter Sadusky, talking to the new protagonist Jess Morales, revealing to her that her dad harbored many secrets. The trailer then gives fans a tease at all the set-pieces and adventures that our new heroes will embark on, the trailer ends with Justin Bartha as Riley Poole introducing himself to the team.
And What About the Edge of History Promotional Scavenger Hunt?
This is a fun little thing that the series' team has done ahead of the show's premiere. It started with a featurette that shows the cast going to the Library of Congress on a scavenger hunt, one that you could join in too. At the end of the video, the cast uncovers a hidden message that reads, "if you waNt to find the TREASure/it isn't hard to find/just find the account/that ends the year/the declaration came about." Check it out below:
This was followed by a tweet from the series' official page, revealing the message, “If you want to move ahead on this hunt, you must act fast. The answer to the next clue lies with the cast.” After that, we got a series of character posters with a hidden message encoded in them. The code, when decrypted, reveals the letters “TRUSEERA”, which when unscrambled spells "TREASURE". It doesn't stop there, of course. That clue reveals the password for a Vimeo link that you can find in National Treasure’s Twitter bio, which unlocks a new teaser for Edge of History that you can see below.:
Will Nicolas Cage Be Reprising His Role?
Nicolas Cage took on the starring role of Benjamin Gates in the two National Treasure films. The Face Off actor portrayed the history buff who risked everything to clear his family’s name and discover the Nation's lost treasure. In the films he was seen rambling away about ciphers and hidden messages in political documents, stealing the Declaration of Independence, and committing a litany of felonies before finally putting all the clues together in the nick of time. Fifteen years later the National Treasure story continues, but without its lead character. Cage, who recently starred as himself in the action comedy film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, is staying very busy though, with four projects currently in post-production, including Renfield, a horror comedy in which Cage takes on the role of Dracula.
Without Cage starring, the National Treasure Franchise has taken on a fresh story, with a new lead. Lisette Olivera takes on the role of Jess Morales/Valenzuela, a 22-year-old who embarks on a cross-country journey to learn more about her family. The only way she can crack the riddle of her past is to find the missing treasure that her father told her about years previously. Luckily her friends are there to help, piling into a van for the road trip of a lifetime. Together they head off in search of the clues needed to solve the mystery, hopefully before her wealthy rival, Billie Pearce.
Catherine Zeta-Jones will be portraying black market antiquity dealer Billie Pearce. Similar to Ian Howe in the first National Treasure film, she attempts to work alongside Jess before stealing her clues and racing against her to solve the mystery first.
Justin Bartha will be reprising his role as tech specialist Riley Poole. Bartha has said that things have changed since the films, in which he was the young guy on set. The Hangover actor spoke of his appreciation for how the National Treasure franchise uses American history as a jumping-off point for the story of an epic treasure hunt.
The character of Riley Poole was always shown to happily work alongside the brilliant Benjamin Gates, though often grumbling about not receiving the recognition or money, he deserves. As a young man, he wasted his early fortune on a bright red Ferrari and did his best to impress young women with the book he wrote depicting his adventures with the famous Gates. The book and the flirting unfortunately didn’t go so well. At the end of the second National Treasure film, though, Riley can be seen flirting with a beautiful woman who recognizes him from his book before driving off in his red Ferrari. In the upcoming series, Riley will be the expert on all things Gates, American history, conspiracy theories, mysterious relics, and hidden treasure. Though, his role as a tech specialist might be usurped by his new, younger cast members, who are seen utilizing their cell phones to solve clues that would have taken a young Riley a few extra minutes on his computer.
Harvey Keitel, who portrayed Agent Peter Sadusky, is seen in the behind-the-scenes featurette, holding a folded American flag while seated at a handsome desk. Agent Sadusky regularly gave Gates and his team a hard time, and a head start. Sadusky seemed to believe in Gates' theories, as wild as they were, often warning the explorer of the lines he was crossing (and felonies he was committing) while reluctantly pursuing him. Audiences will have to wait and see how the federal agent handles this new, younger explorer who will surely test the boundaries of the law in search of the hidden treasure.
Where Will You Be Able To Watch National Treasure: Edge of History?
Luckily you won’t have to traverse the nation in search of this hidden treasure. The series will only be available to stream on Disney+. You can also find the National Treasure films on the streaming platform if you need to freshen up on your history before the show is released.
What Will National Treasure: Edge of History Be About?
The National Treasure: Edge of History series will pay homage to its predecessors, continuing the treasure hunting story, filled with relics, maps, and lost history. But with a new story comes a new mystery that has never been explored by the Gates team before.
Jess Valenzuela and Billie Pearce are both on the hunt for three mysterious boxes. These boxes hold clues that must be solved in order to find the hidden treasure that Jess’ dad had told her about years before. Jess believes that if she can solve the puzzle, then she can learn more about her family and their past, not to mention a trove of gold.
The young explorer is in possession of a strange cube with multiple rotating circles on its surface, emblazoned with symbols that include a Mayan numeral system that counts up to thirteen. Based on the behind-the-scenes shots released so far, it appears that the series will pull inspiration from the Mexican-American war, although a painting is shown depicting Spanish conquistadors charging their boats at what appears to be a Mayan temple. The National Treasure franchise has previously touched on South American history and lore in the second film. Audiences are hoping that this series holds a tad more true to real-life history, and doesn’t try to convince them that any more South American ruins are hidden in the Midwest.
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