Disney Branded Television’s turn at the Television Critics Association winter press tour paved the way for a string of big announcements.
Catherine Zeta-Jones has joined the cast of the upcoming National Treasure at Disney+.
Lisette Alexis, Zuri Reed, Jordan Rodrigues, Antonio Cipriano, Jake Austin Walker, and Lyndon Smith also star in the continuation of the movies.
The highly anticipated drama series follows on a young heroine, Jess (Alexis), 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.
Zeta-Jones will play Billie, a badass billionaire with an eye for black-market antiques.
She follows her own code, finding herself in an exciting race to find the Pan-American treasure.
Zeta-Jones recently starred on FOX’s Prodigal Son in a recurring role and is also attached to appear on Netflix’s adaptation of The Addams Family, Wednesday.
Disney+ has also revealed that British singer/songwriter Rita Ora has joined the Beauty and the Beast prequel series cast.
Ora will play a fugitive with surprising abilities and a secret that could change everything.
“I can’t keep the secret any longer! I’m beyond excited to be joining the cast of the Beauty and the Beast prequel series,” Ora said of the casting announcement.
“As a child, I remember watching Beauty and the Beast with my family over and over and immediately falling in love with the music and characters.”
Set several years before the events of the 2017 live-action film, Beauty and the Beast (working title) “will follow Gaston and LeFou as they set off with LeFou’s stepsister, Tilly, after a surprising revelation from her past comes to light, sending the unlikely trio off on an unexpected journey filled with romance, comedy, and adventure,” per the show’s official logline.
“While the mysteries of the past are uncovered, and the dangers of the present grow, old friends and new enemies reveal that this familiar kingdom harbors many secrets.”
Disney Branded Television also announced casting for the Disney+ original series American Born Chinese, the genre-hopping action-comedy based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang.
The cast features talented international stars Michelle Yeoh (Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Ben Wang (MacGyver), two-time International Emmy Award nominee Yeo Yann Yann (Wet Season), and Chin Han (Mortal Kombat).
The cast also includes Daniel Wu (Reminiscence), Ke Huy Quan (Finding ‘Ohana), former Taekwondo champion Jim Liu and Sydney Taylor (Just Add Magic).
Disney+ has also ordered to series of Goosebumps, which is set to follow a group of five high schoolers who unleash supernatural forces upon their town and must band together to save it.
There will be secrets tied to the past that may or may not paint their parents in a bad light, but the mysteries will keep us tuning in for this one.
The new iteration has been in development for almost two years.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.