We won’t see Nicolas Cage return as Ben Gates in the Disney+ series National Treasure: Edge of History, but the character still has a presence in that world with a recent mention that seems to tease more to come. Serving as a continuation of the National Treasure movies, the streaming series primarily follows a new cast led by Lisette Olivera, Zuri Reed, Antonio Cipriano, Jake Austin Walker, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Harvey Keitel and Justin Bartha also reprise their roles from the movies for the Disney+ series, linking the continuities.
In the newest episode of the show, Cage’s Ben Gates was directly referenced by Bartha, who’s back as Riley. When asked if he’s been working on any new treasure hunts, Riley reveals that he’s still collaborating with Ben before going on to directly reference National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The clip has been uploaded to YouTube by Disney+, and you can watch the video below to catch the Ben Gates reference.
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“Not retired,” Riley says of what he and Ben are doing these days. “Ben and I have been working on this super important thing for the last three, four, 15 years.”
When asked if it’s another lost treasure, Riley responds, “Let’s just say there’s 47 reasons to be interested.”
The number 47 is significant in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, the 2007 sequel to the 2004 original film. In the movie, Riley and Ben uncover a secret diary with entries written by various presidents throughout history. Within its pages are some major secrets including one particular revelation on page 47 that is said to be “life-altering,” but whatever this was isn’t revealed in the film. A third National Treasure movie could provide more information about what Riley and Ben uncovered, but for now, referencing the number simply serves as an Easter egg for the previous films.
National Treasure: Edge of History Expands the Mythology of the Franchise
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While the franchise has transitioned to the small screen with the Disney+ series, producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently teased that National Treasure 3 may still happen. He said that work on another movie with Cage back as Ben Gates is “still ongoing,” and the goal is to get to that point after the TV series plays out. That would explain the teases toward more of Ben’s story like the one above, and it seems we may get a few more references or Easter eggs by the end of the season.
National Treasure: Edge of History is streaming on Netflix. You can watch an official trailer for the series below.
