Now You See Me 3: There is finally good news for “Now You See Me” franchise fans who have been eagerly waiting for any new developments regarding a third film to succeed the first two to make the hugely popular heist-thriller movies into a trilogy. Now You See Me 3, the new magician heist movie which will lay a great deal of stress on illusions and deception, is reportedly in the works and will hit the big screens by 2019. That is three years from the release of the second movie. According to Forbes, Neil Widener and Gavin James are writing the screenplay for the Lionsgate project which would reunite most of the core cast including Isla Fisher and bring Jon M. Chu back into the director’s chair. Bobby Cohen will co-produce along with Alex Kurtzman and Jeb Brody.
Lionsgate first announced plans to make Now You See Me 3 last May, over a year before Now You See Me 2 arrived in theatres, while Chu signed on in April of this year. However, this is the first significant update on the project since the box office receipts came in for Now You See Me 2, which opened over the summer.
Also, speculation is rife that Benedict Cumberbatch of ‘Sherlock’ fame is slated to feature in a guest role in the upcoming heist movie.
As Variety reported, the news of Now You See Me 3 was announced during a Lionsgate company conference call to discuss quarterly earnings with analysts.
“The studio has already begun early work on the third installment, as they expect “Now You See Me 2″ to pull in a hefty amount of box office dough”
-Jon Feltheimer, CEO, Lionsgate
The first Lionsgate/Summit film, which starred Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco as a gang of “steal from the rich” stage magicians, was a surprise smash in the summer of 2013. It was a wholly original concept that earned $117.7 million in North America and $351.7m worldwide on a $75m budget. Directed by Louis Leterrier, the movie also had stellar displays of acting from Mark Ruffalo, Melanie Laurent and Morgan freeman.
“Now You See Me 2,” officially called “Now You See Me: The Second Act” directed by Jon M. Chu brought back nearly the entire cast but swapped Isla Fisher for Lizzy Caplan due to the former’s pregnancy during production. The film earned a lot less in North America ($65 million) than the first film but almost as much worldwide, earning $334.8m including the aforementioned $97.1m in China alone.
Now You See me 3 Release Date
Lionsgate have not come up with any official news regarding the third movie in the thriller-heist franchise but according to the timeline pattern and considering the fact that Now You See Me 3 has just recently gone in production, the movie will most probably be hitting the big screens either in late 2018 or the first quarter of 2019.
