Disney+ is opening up a new chapter in the National Treasure franchise with National Treasure: Edge of History, premiering on December 14, 2022. The series introduces a new group of treasure hunters, with a few familiar faces from the National Treasure films popping in in guest starring roles in season one.
National Treasure: Edge of History was created by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, writers of both National Treasure films – 2004’s National Treasure and 2007’s National Treasure: Book of Secrets – and follows the hunt for a centuries-old lost Pan-American treasure. The treasure has a special connection to Jess Valenzuela (played Lisette Olivera), a 20-year-old intelligent and resourceful DREAMer who loves solving puzzles and is a whiz at piecing together clues.
Season one finds Jess, with the help of her friends, setting out to learn more about her family’s history while on a quest to locate a lost treasure. Antonio Cipriano and Zuri Reed star as Jess’ friends Oren and Tasha who join in the treasure hunt. Paired up for interviews at the San Diego Comic-Con, Cipriano and Reed discussed the appeal of the series, their characters, and working with National Treasure’s Justin Bartha.
Antonio Cipriano and Zuri Reed Interview:
The National Treasure films delve into American history and what it means to be an American. How does the show incorporate those themes?
Zuri Reed: “I am really big on like if this type of person exists, then there could be a story about that because it’s real life. And that goes for people with disabilities and (different) statuses, and things like that. I think it helps to make it even more authentic because that’s what ‘American’ is. We’re not all fresh from the Mayflower.”
Antonio Cipriano: “Exactly. We are all immigrants.”
Zuri Reed: “From different ways and walks of life. There are DREAMers here, and we love them so much.”
Antonio Cipriano: “Yeah, I agree with everything that she said. […] They were talking about it in the panel about how Ben Gates (played by Nicolas Cage) – in that story, his family could have been right off the Mayflower. But (the show) wanted to focus on what makes America, America in so many other ways.”
Zuri Reed: “And America is a melting pot. It’s important for those other stories to be told because that is real life.”
What appealed to you about your characters?
Antonio Cipriano: “I found so much of myself in it in, like the playfulness. And just like the kind of off-the-cuff character is very fun to play and experiment with. And then working with the (Wimberleys) is a dream come true.”
Zuri Reed: “I have never had an audition for a role that felt more like me, ever. I didn’t have to try too hard. The comedic timing of Tasha is my comedic timing. Her attitude and sassiness, you know, that’s all me. It was great. Literally, everything about it was like, ‘Okay, can I please do this project, please?!’”
Antonio Cipriano: “And I think that’s why our relationship in real life is very much like ours in (the show). The first time we met, we sang the entirety of Les Mis.”
Zuri Reed: “From beginning to end…”
Antonio Cipriano: “…at a restaurant…”
Zuri Reed: “…in New York City…”
Antonio Cipriano: “…for everyone to hear.”
Zuri Reed: “It was great. I was like, ‘Hmmm, I’m going to like you.’”
Antonio Cipriano: “We gelled very quickly. And our characters did, too.”
What do you love about your characters?
Antonio Cipriano: “I think for Oren specifically, because he’s sort of such an out-of-the-box character going through the course of the show, it was almost like, ‘Oh, you sing in real life. We should try Oren singing here because he is so random that it would almost work.’ And I think working with that in every scene is so fun as an actor. So yeah, I think just kind of the randomness of him is really cool.”
Zuri Reed: “I think Tasha’s loyalty and the way that she’s such a leader. She commands a room. She’s very strong, and I think that is a very important story to tell, especially as a Black woman to be able to be in that position. So that’s what I love about my character.”
Justin Bartha reprises his role as Riley for the series, and he’s not the only one returning from the film franchise. What can you tell us about this season’s special guests?
Zuri Reed: “Well, Justin does a great job as Riley Poole – we know him and love him so much. And Jake (Austin Walker’s) character, Liam, his grandfather is Harvey Keitel who plays Sadusky. I don’t know what else I can say about Easter eggs of who’s coming back.”
Antonio Cipriano: “But there will be more. We can guarantee it.
The first day (Justin) came to set, we were rained out for like three hours. We were waiting in a van, and he was in there with us. We just got to hear stories of his first table read with the movie and all of this stuff from almost like 18 years ago. Just hearing about his experience on the movies and bringing it to this…he’s excited for this. It was really, really amazing and a once-in-a-lifetime situation.”
Zuri Reed: “We also played games in the van, too.”
Antonio Cipriano: “So many games.”
Zuri Reed: “There was thunder, so we had to stay in a van literally for three hours on the set, so that was fine. It was a nice bonding moment for us.”
Why do you think people will be drawn to this show?
Zuri Reed: “I think there’s something really satisfying about when people represent what is real. We are very different, we come from different backgrounds, different walks of life, but are on this hunt that is fictionalized. It’s based around real things and real artifacts and Mexican artifacts that we might not have been taught in history class.”/p>
Antonio Cipriano: “It’s just exciting. It’s very exciting to go on these treasure hunts. I mean, watching it growing up, you wanted to be a treasure hunter watching these movies. So, I think it’s the same reason that people watch the movies. It’s amazing.”
Zuri Reed: “You get the thrill and the excitement, and you also laugh.”
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