While there have been rumors of a third National Treasure movie being in development since National Treasure: Book of Secrets came out in 2007, last year saw the announcement that we are also getting a National Treasure TV series heading to Disney+. While a new movie in the Nicolas Cage franchise has been stuck in development hell for well over a decade, a new behind-the-scenes image has already shown that the TV series will not be suffering the same fate.

Although it now appears that National Treasure 3 could be moving forward with some of the original cast, the TV series will be a completely independent venture and will introduce a whole new set of characters to the franchise, although producer Jerry Bruckheimer will be on board for both projects, so we can expect the same kind of action-adventure on the small screen as we came to expect from the franchise in its big-screen outings.

With production already underway on the TV series, the new image doesn’t give a lot away, but does give a good look at what appears to be numerous sets on a soundstage, all of which are still clearly in the process of being built for purpose. Shared on Instagram by director of photography Tom Camarda, the image comes with the caption, “Lots of iron hanging up high. Things starting to take shape here in Baton Rouge on National Treasure.” For fans of the franchise who have been waiting a long time for some kind of continuation to the 2004 movie and its sequel, this is as good a confirmation as you can get that things are definitely moving ahead at pace on the show, which is expected to arrive on Disney+ sometime in 2023.

National Treasure Brings Whole New Cast to the Franchise, But No Nicolas Cage

While the initial announcement about a National Treasure series had fans wondering if this would be the replacement for a third movie, it quickly became apparent that the story of the show would be separate from that of the movie series, and while it seems that Nicolas Cage could be returning in a new movie, he will not be in the series. The new story will center on Jess Morales, a 20-year-old Latina explorer played by Lisette Alexis, who will be joined on her adventure to discover her family history by a group of friends.

In January, five new cast members we added to the show, with Parenthood’s Lyndon Smith joining in the role of FBI Agent Ross, along with Zuri Reed and Jordan Rodrigues as friends of Jess, Antonio Cipriano as a goofy theorist, and Jake Austin Walker as someone who comes from a long line of treasure hunters. Additionally, this week saw Catherine Zeta-Jones joining the show seemingly in the antagonist role of billionaire Billie. Altogether, it sounds like the TV show will not stray too far from the tried and tested template of the movies and thanks to the current trend of nostalgic properties being revived on streaming platforms, National Treasure will likely prove to be another big hit when it arrives sometime in 2023.