Disney Plus may not have the reputation for being as cancel-happy as Netflix, but the mouse still axes original programming from time to time. The latest to make the chopping block is National Treasure: Edge of History, a follow-up to the hit National Treasure movie franchise. Disney has canceled the show after just one season, Deadline reports.
The 10-episode series debuted in December 2022 and wrapped in February. Rather than expanding on the puzzle-solving adventures of Nicholas Cage's Benjamin Gates, National Treasure: Edge of History follows newcomer Jess Valenzuela (Lisette Olivera). Her search for answers about her family lands her at the center of a treasure hunt for lost artifacts hidden from Spanish conquistadors by a network of Aztec, Incan, and Mayan women.
Justin Bartha and Harvey Keitel reprise their roles from the National Treasure movies to help tie in Edge of History to the universe. Injecting a bit of star power into the cast is Catherine Zeta-Jones as Billie, a black-market antiquities dealer after the same treasure as Jess.
Disney brought back several National Treasure veterans to produce the series. Among the executive producers are Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, the husband and wife screenwriting duo behind the two National Treasure movies, along with the films' producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub.
That it's being scrapped after one season is surprising but not unprecedented for the mouse. Disney Plus has churned out Marvel and Star Wars original series at a breakneck pace since launching its streaming service. 2022 alone saw three new shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel — while Star Wars fans got The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor. The Marvel burnout is so pervasive that Marvel President Kevin Feige confirmed plans to rethink the MCU’s current content release strategy.
But when it comes to shows that aren't tied to those two highly lucrative franchises, Disney seems more gun-shy. As Deadline points out, National Treasure: Edge of History is the latest in a growing list of non-Marvel and Star Wars Disney Plus originals that got the axe after only one or two seasons. Others include Big Shot, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Diary of a Future President, and Turner and Hooch.
