'National Treasure' series filming in Santa Fe

Jun. 28—The search for treasure continues.

The New Mexico State Film Office announced that the Disney+ series, "National Treasure" is filming in and around Santa Fe.

Pre-production has been taking place for months around the city and principal photography has begun.

"We welcome another Disney+ production and this globally-recognized property to New Mexico, along with its all-star production team and talent," said Amber Dodson, New Mexico Film Office director. "New Mexico is a place for major television series such as National Treasure, and the economic impact to the state is great — television series are on the ground for months at a time, employ our residents, and utilize local businesses of all kinds."

According to the film office, the series follows Jess Morales, played by Lisette Olivera, who is a 20-year-old "Dreamer" that sets off on an exploration to discover the mystery of her family history. With the help of her friends she seeks to recover historical lost Pan-American treasure.

The series is an expansion of the "National Treasure" movie franchise that starred Nicolas Cage. The film franchise became blockbusters when they were released in 2004 and 2007, respectively. Justin Bartha starred in the two films as Riley Poole, who is the best friend and computer expert sidekick of treasure hunting lead Benjamin Franklin Gates, played by Cage. According to reports Bartha will appear in a guest capacity in the series.

The series stars Olivera, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Zuri Reed, Jordan Rodrigues, Antonio Cipriano, Jake Austin Walker and Lyndon Smith.

Jerry Bruckheimer, Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, Jonathan Littman, and KristieAnne Reed executive produce the series alongside Rick Muirragui, who also serves as a writer.

Jon Turteltaub is executive producer.

Mira Nair is directing and executive producing.

According to the New Mexico Film Office, the production will employ 152 New Mexico crew and approximately 160 New Mexico background talent.