Los Angeles, April 12 (Representative) Disney is bringing to its upcoming National Treasure series, the return of a familiar face — Justin Bartha. Helping to uncover the details behind another historical trail to another lost American treasure is Bartha, who plays the role of researcher and expert computer scientist Riley Poole in the first two movies as well as the upcoming third one and now his role is confirmed to guest star in the series as well. National Treasure is an expansion of the namesake movie franchise and centers on a young heroine, Jess, a brilliant and resourceful dreamer who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about her family’s mysterious past and save a lost Pan-American treasure. The show has been described as an “expansion” of the movie franchise, and now with Bartha’s casting the show will act as a connecting bridge to first the two films, released in 2004 and 2007.
Bartha starred as Riley in the first “National Treasure” film in 2004, opposite Nicolas Cage. Riley is a computer whiz and Nicolas Cage’s character Benjamin Franklin Gates’s best friend, who helped him uncover the secrets leading to a massive treasure hidden somewhere in the United States full of gold, ancient relics, statues and artefacts which was hidden by the Founding Fathers. Bartha reprised his role in the 2007 sequel titled “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.”In the second film, Riley has become a famous writer from the events of the first film and aids Ben in proving the innocence of his ancestor Thomas Gates who was accused of being a co conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, who wrote the screenplays for both films (along with Jim Kouf on the first), are executive producing along with Jerry Bruckheimer (who produced the movies); Jerry Bruckheimer TV’s Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed; Rick Muirragui, who also serves as writer; Jon Turteltaub; and director Mira Nair. The series stars Lisette Alexis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Zuri Reed, Jordan Rodrigues, Antonio Cipriano, Jake Austin Walker and Lyndon Smith. The series will stream on Disney+ and its release date is currently unknown. In addition to the National Treasure movies, Bartha is also known for his work in Todd Phillips’ The Hangover trilogy. He was recently seen co-starring in dramas ‘Godfather of Harlem’ and ‘The Good Fight’. Bartha’s additional credits include ‘Sweet Girl’, ‘Driven’, ‘White Girl’, ‘Holy Rollers’, ‘Dark Horse’, ‘The Rebound’ and ‘The New Normal’.