National Treasure: Edge of History has been cancelled at Disney+ after just one season. A continuation of the Nicolas Cage-led movie franchise, the series revolves around a young woman who is put on a trail of clues with ties to America's past that could also help her uncover the truth about her family's past and her long-dead father. Featuring the returns of Justin Bartha and Harvey Keitel, National Treasure: Edge of History scored mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, which looks to be catching up to the show.
Despite talks of National Treasure: Edge of History season 2 happening on Disney+, and even speculation about Cage making an appearance, that will not come to pass as the show has been cancelled, according to Deadline. With this cancellation, another highly-touted Disney+ show meets an early demise, after Big Shot, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Mysterious Benedict Society, Diary of a Future President and Turner & Hooch all met a similar fate.
Is This The End For The National Treasure Franchise?
Disney knows what it has in big franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, and it was clearly hoping National Treasure could join those juggernauts by spinning off some ongoing Disney+ content. Another, different National Treasure show could of course still happen, but the fact that Edge of History failed to catch on, and was given the early axe, does not bode well for the franchise’s future.
There is, of course, another path for National Treasure as a franchise on the big screen, where the original movies grossed a combined total of over $800 million worldwide. Speculation continues about the possibility of National Treasure 3 one day happening, fueled by comments from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who confirmed this past December development is still underway. With Cage undergoing something of a career resurgence in recent years, the time would seem right for National Treasure 3 to finally happen, with speculation even swirling for National Treasure: Edge of History to set up the next movie, which could still happen, though now seems unlikely.
National Treasure: Edge of History lasting only one season would seem to suggest that the franchise has nothing left in the tank, but it could also be that the show just didn’t catch on with fans of the movies, and that those same fans would still happily buy movie tickets to watch Cage’s Benjamin Gates go on another adventure. It will be interesting to see what news about the franchise as a whole surfaces after Disney+ ended its highly-touted National Treasure show prematurely.
Source: Deadline