Disney Takes Us to the Edge of History

History mystery

Since its launch in 2019, Disney+ has expanded the Stars Wars and Marvel universes with various TV shows, and this week brings another series inspired by a popular Disney film franchise, National Treasure: Edge of History. 

In National Treasure and its sequel, Book of Secrets (a third film is coming in 2024), Nicolas Cage played historian and treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates, something of a cross between Indiana Jones and The Da Vinci Code’s Robert Langdon, unravelling cryptic clues to discover the truth behind America’s hidden history. Disney+According to the synopsis, the new series is an “expansion” of the films that’s told from the point of view of Jess Valenzuela (Lisette Olivera), a brilliant and resourceful young woman in search of answers about her own family history as she embarks on a quest to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American fortune. 

“In Edge of History, Jess Valenzuela’s life is turned upside down when an enigmatic stranger gives her a clue to a centuries-old treasure that might be connected to her long-dead father,” reads the synopsis. “Jess has a knack for solving puzzles, and her skills are put to the test as she and her friends follow a series of clues hidden in American artifacts and landmarks. But can Jess outsmart a black-market antiquities dealer in a race to find history’s greatest lost treasure and unbury the truth about her family’s past?” Disney+The show also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jake Austin Walker, Jordan Rodrigues, Zuri Reed, Antonio Cipriano and Lyndon Smith, while Justin Bartha and Harvey Keitel reprise their roles from the movies; rumour has it that Cage’s character will also appear — but not until the second season, which will presumably link the sequel. 

National Treasure: Edge of History premieres Wednesday, December 14 on Disney+