It’s official: the third installment of the Now You See Me franchise is now in development. Lionsgate is working to produce Now You See Me 3, and will hopefully be bringing back its stars, including Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, and perhaps even Michael Caine and Daniel Radcliffe. Rumors have spun in the past that Benedict Cumberbatch may be joining the third film, while Now You See Me 2 director John M. Chu has already signed on to return.
When last we saw the Four Horsemen, they had escaped arrest yet again while their nemeses Arthur Tressler and his son Walter (played by Caine and Radcliffe, respectively) were taken into custody. Where the third movie will take the Horsemen this time is yet to be discovered, though American Hustle‘s Eric Warren Singer will be writing the screenplay.
Lionsgate President Nathen Kahane made the following statement about hiring Singer: “Eric has always been fascinated with the fine art of deception and illusion in all of its forms and he came to us with a great story that takes the mythology of Now You See Me and pushes The Four Horsemen to a whole new level with our key returning cast and new characters. The Now You See Me franchise has been built on keeping the audience surprised and guessing. Any great magician knows, you can’t keep doing the same tricks. And Eric and his team of illusionists have something special up their sleeve for this new film.”
A trailer or release date for Now You See Me 3 has yet to be announced.