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The Stars of National Treasure: Edge of History Reveal Easter Eggs From the OG Films

In an exclusive interview with E! News, the cast of Disney+'s National Treasure: Edge of History revealed some of the ways the new series called back to the OG franchise.

By Alyssa Ray Dec 15, 2022 12:36 AMTags
Watch: National Treasure: Edge of History Series Cast Teases Juicy Easter Eggs

Blink and you may miss these treasured Easter eggs.

Disney+ released the first two episodes for National Treasure: Edge of History Dec. 14, and subsequently paid tribute to the beloved film franchise it's based on. For starters, the premiere marked the short-lived return of Harvey Keitel's FBI Agent Peter Sadusky, who passes away in episode one after giving budding cryptologist Jess (Lisette Oliviera) a clue to an ancient treasure—that's somehow connected to her late father.

On working with the National Treasure legend, Lisette told E! News it was "an incredible honor," as he was "a huge part of what made the movie so special. And in a way I feel like they passed the torch on to me."

Of course, Harvey's cameo isn't the only notable callback, as eagle-eyed fans may've noticed key clues from the first National Treasure film: The Benjamin Franklin glasses and the Meerschaum Pipe.

The items are revealed in a secret treasure room in the second episode, in which Jess ropes the late Sadusky's grandson Liam (Jake Austin Walker) into helping her solve a growing mystery.

Looking for confirmation that those are really Easter eggs from the OG franchise? Well then, look no further because we had Jake, Zuri Reed, Antonio Cipriano, Jordan Rodrigues and Lyndon Smith confirm the callbacks—and tease others to come.

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Secrets About the National Treasure Franchise

Antonio, who plays Jess' good friend Oren, confirmed that "there are so many that you can find, like the Ben Franklin glasses, the pipe all of these things from the original movie."

In fact, as Antonio pointed out, the treasure room also includes "the panel from the Resolute desk."

While Jake agreed that the Benjamin Franklin glasses is his favorite Easter egg, he noted another way his character pays homage to the National Treasure fans. "I don't think it's a necessity to watch the films previously," he told E! News about going into the series blind, "but I think we have a lot of returning characters and legacy characters. I, myself, play Liam Sadusky, the grandson of Harvey Keitel, his character from the first two movies. And I think it's just a really big payoff for people, like we dedicated so much of our youth to these films."

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Case in point: National Treasure star Justin Bartha is confirmed to reprise his role of Riley Poole. On working with the franchise alum, Jordan, who plays Ethan on Edge of History, said it was "really cool," as they were able to pick Justin's brain "about the whole whole world."

Zuri, who plays the tech savvy Tasha, even joked that Justin was a "human sized Easter egg." And he isn't the only one, as Lyndon, who plays Agent Ross, hinted that she worked with another familiar face from the franchise.

"It's a spoiler. But it's a person who really keen fans of the original franchise—like you'll really have to love it to figure out how this is going to unfold," she told E!. "And that's all I can say."

New episodes of National Treasure: Edge of History arrive Wednesdays on Disney+.

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