The “Now You See Me” franchise is back nine years after the second film was released.
“Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” continues the story of a secret organization of magicians, called the Four Horsemen, who pull off seemingly impossible heists and take down criminals.
The two previous films did reasonably well for a studio movie at the box office, each making over $300 million worldwide. The first film, released in 2013, performed better than its 2016 sequel.
Jon Feltheimer, the CEO of Lionsgate, which produces and distributes the “Now You See Me” franchise, told analysts on a conference call about quarterly earning in 2015 that a third film was in the works, Variety reported.
The project did not pick up steam until last year, following a trend of major studios relying more on remakes or sequels to attract audiences to theaters.
“Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” will be released in theaters on November 14, a week before the highly anticipated “Wicked” sequel, which could impact the heist film’s box office performance.
Isla Fisher returns to the ‘Now You See Me’ franchise, alongside new actors
Lizzy Caplan — seen here with Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, and Woody Harrelson — replaced Isla Fisher in the 2016 sequel “Now You See Me 2.” Jay Maidment/Summit Entertainment
Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco starred in the first film as four talented magicians — J. Daniel Atlas, Merritt McKinney, Henley Reeves, and Jack Wilder — who join a mysterious organization called the Eye and form the Four Horsemen.
Fisher wasn’t in “Now You See Me 2” — she was pregnant when it was filmed — but she is back for the third film, alongside Harrelson, Eisenberg, Franco, and Morgan Freeman, who plays Thaddeus Bradley, the leader of the Eye.
Lizzy Caplan, who played Lulu in “Now You See Me 2” and replaced Fisher’s character Henley as the fourth Horseman, has not been cast in the third film.
Mark Ruffalo, who played the Four Horsemen’s mastermind, Dylan Rhodes, is also notably absent from the third movie’s cast.
Rosamund Pike has joined the franchise to play Veronika Vanderberg, the head of a global criminal network. Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, and Ariana Greenblatt play a new group of magicians who Eisenberg’s character recruits to the Eye.
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The trailer for ‘Now You See Me, Now You Don’t’ hints that the old guard and the new magicians will work together
Rosamund Pike joins the “Now You See Me” franchise as the third film’s villain. Katalin Vermes / Summit Entertainment
A trailer, released on Tuesday, gives the first hints at the plot of the third film.
Daniel recruits three magicians to take down Veronika’s criminal empire. He tells the magicians he doesn’t want to work with the other Horsemen because they are “dead” to him, but Henley, Jack, and Meritt show up to help anyway.
Thaddeus appears to be leading the Eye despite handing over the reins of the organization to Dylan in the final scene of “Now You See Me 2.”
Variety reported that Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate’s motion picture group chair, said at CinemaCon in April that a fourth “Now You See Me” movie is in development. The third film may end with a tease for the next installment in the franchise.
Ruben Fleischer directed the third film and will direct the fourth, too.
