When the trailer was released for the upcoming ‘National Treasure: Edge of History’ on Disney+, fans were not happy to see that Nicolas Cage was not included in the show. Cage originally starred in both the first ‘National Treasure’ and second ‘National Treasure: Book of Secrets’ films, playing Benjamin Gates. Now it seems that Disney has gotten the message and now allegedly has a “tentative plan” in place for his character IF they can get him back for Season 2.
According to the ‘National Treasure: Edge of History’ showrunner Cormac Wibberley the “tentative plan” for a second season with Benjamin Gates would make him the “Tony Stark” to the new female character Jess Valenzuela’s (Lisette Olivera) “Peter Parker.”
Here’s what Wibberley said:
 “Tony Stark gets to visit Peter Parker. That’s basically how we saw the relationship if Ben Gates ever showed up. She’s basically Peter Parker to him and would be like, ‘Oh my God, it’s Ben Gates! What do I do?’ That’s how our universe is. We would love to bring any of the other veterans if we get another season. We have roles for all of them.””
According to an article in Entertainment Weekly, co-showrunner Marianne Wibberley, believes the premise for the new show is that American history is all about the “point of view” of a character.
Cormac Wibberley was trying to create a show without Ben Gates and a point of view from someone not natively born, according to Marianne’s description of the events that led to the new storyline:
“One day we were trying to think of the show and Cormac was like, ‘Let’s do it from the point of view of a person that’s trying to get citizenship and that’s why they know American history. I like the idea of someone who’s trying to become a citizen, reading an American history book, trying because they love our history.’ That’s when we spun it into this story that was not a Ben Gates story.”
It does seem that either they decided to keep Nic Cage out of it or it was a mandate from Disney. Someone, somewhere wanted a non-Ben Gates story.
This choice was a big mistep that has bit them all in the butt with the fans of the franchise. It all could have just as easily been done with Ben Gates as part of the story. Now they are making up “tentative plans” in case they can get Nic Cage in for Season 2.
Let’s just hope that people give the show a chance and don’t just pass it by because it’s lacking the character that made the franchise what it was. That would be a disservice to the diverse characters that make up this show. But maybe Disney should have tried harder to keep original characters in at least the first season. The showrunning duo did say that they attempted to get Jon Voight and Diane Kruger back for the show, but that didn’t work out. (It really does feel like Disney was trying to get everyone except Nic Cage?)
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Source: EW
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