According to Deadline, Zuri Reed (Flatbush Misdemeanors), Lyndon Smith (Parenthood), Jake Austin Walker (DC’s Stargirl), Antonio Cipriano (Jagged Little Pill), Jordan Rodrigues (Light as a Feather) have been tapped as series regulars in Disney+’s forthcoming National Treasure series. This new generation of treasure hunters will be joining the previously confirmed female lead of Lisette Alexis, who is portraying Jess Morales.
The five cast members’ official character descriptions are listed below:
- Reed’s Tasha – is Jess’ ride-or-die best friend, whom she in high school. She is fiercely independent, a social media personality and a tech genius, who uses her platform to fight for privacy and rally against big corporations. But when she joins the treasure hunt, she’s forced to reevaluate her belief system to help her best friend.
- Smith’s FBI Agent Ross – who, after a near career-ending mistake, was reassigned to the Baton Rouge field office. When Jess and Tasha show up at her office asking for help, it’s Ross’ chance to prove herself by uncovering the truth about Jess and her mysterious connection to the treasure.
- Walker’s Liam – is a struggling musician with a permanent chip on his shoulder who comes from a long line of treasure hunters. When his estranged grandfather passes away and Jess shows up talking about a lost treasure connected to his family, Liam finds himself magnetically drawn to Jess and the promise of fulfilling his late father’s treasure-hunting dreams.
- Cipriano’s Oren – is a lovable but self-obsessed goofball with an encyclopedic knowledge of conspiracy theories, sneakers and business. He’ll spend the season attempting to win back Tasha’s affections and slowly learn that real love requires personal sacrifice.
- Rodrigues’ Ethan – is known as the Golden boy, who have been best friends with Jess since her mother Manuela tutored them as children, and have loved Jess since the day they met. A Type-A rule-follower, Ethan will have to learn to relax his grip if he wants to be helpful on the hunt.
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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. The spin-off is being described as an expansion of the Nicolas Cage-led film franchise.
Click here to purchase the original Nicolas Cage-led film and its 2007 sequel.
“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 recover lost treasure,” reads the logline.
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.
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Before the development of the upcoming series came to be, Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer have 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.
