Disney+ has officially announced that Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones has signed on for a leading role opposite newcomer Lisette Alexis in the upcoming National Treasure series. Zeta-Jones is set to portray the role of Billie, a badass billionaire, black-market antiquities expert, and treasure hunter, who lives by her own code.
“She transformed herself from a penniless orphan to a shrewd, stylish businesswoman and adventurer.” reads the full character description. “Billie’s used to getting what she wants—and she wants the Pan-American treasure. But not just for the money. This treasure has deeper stakes for her.”
This marks the acclaimed actress’ latest TV project after appearing in last year’s Fox’s Prodigal Son Season 2. She will also next star in Netflix’s Tim Burton-directed Wednesday series as the iconic Morticia Addams.
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Joining Zeta-Jones and Alexis are Zuri Reed (Flatbush Misdemeanors) as Tasha, Lyndon Smith (Parenthood) as FBI Agent Ross, Jake Austin Walker (DC’s Stargirl) as Liam, Antonio Cipriano (Jagged Little Pill) as Oren, and Jordan Rodrigues (Light as a Feather) as Ethan.
“The series is set to explore timely issues of identity, community, historical authorship, and patriotism told from the point of view of Jess Morales, a twenty-year-old DREAMer who, with her diverse group of friends, sets off on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover her mysterious family history and save a lost Pan-American treasure,” reads the logline.
Click here to purchase the original Nicolas Cage-led film and its 2007 sequel.
The first episode of the National Treasure series will be directed by Mira Nair (Queen of Katwe) from a screenplay written by original film writers Marianne and Cormac Wibberley. Set to begin production this month, the spin-off is being described as an expansion of the Nicolas Cage-led film franchise.
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The series hails from the original films’ producer Jerry Bruckheimer and the Wibberleys, who are all serving as executive producers. It is a production by Jerry Bruckheimer Television with ABC Signature as its studio. It is also executive produced by the first film’s director Jon Turteltaub, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, and Rick Muirragui, who is also set as a writer.
Before the development of the upcoming series came to be, Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer had been developing the third installment to National Treasure since 2008. Cage previously expressed interest to return, believing that the new story should take them international. The most recent update about the project was last year when Bruckheimer confirmed that the third film is still in development with the script still being written.
