Lionsgate Announces ‘Now You See Me 3’
Despite the fact thatNow You See Me 2isn’t hitting theaters for another year, Lionsgate is raring to go onNow You See Me 3. The studio confirms it’s already entered the “early planning” stages for the threequel, now thatNow You See Me 2has wrapped production. Hit the jump for more about theNow You See Me 3announcement.
Lionsgate CEOJon Feltheimermade the announcement during an earnings call. “We’ve already begun early planning forNow You See Me 3,” he revealed. The new project is framed as part of Lionsgate’s strategy to focus on franchises.
The firstNow You See Me, directed byLouis Leterrier, opened in summer 2013. Thanks to its intriguing premise, excellent cast, and strong word-of-mouth, it turned out to be a sleeper hit. It grossed $351 million worldwide in total, on a budget of around $80 million. Lionsgate announced a sequellater that same summer.
Jon M. Chuwas hired last year to directNow You See Me: The Second Act, and original starsJesse Eisenberg,Mark Ruffalo,Woody Harrelson,Isla Fisher,Dave Franco,Morgan Freeman, andMichael Cainewere brought back to reprise their roles. New cast members includeLizzy CaplanandDaniel Radcliffe, andEd SolomonandPete Chiarelliwrote the script.Now You See Me: The Second Actbegan shooting in late 2014, and is scheduled to arrive in theatersJune 10, 2016. Feltheimer told analysts he believes the sequel will outgross even its predecessor.
Details onNow You See Me 3are unsurprisingly scarce. No director, writer, or stars have been announced, and no plot information has been revealed. Presumably that stuff will come later, once Lionsgate sees how the nextNow You See Meactually fares in theaters. Until then, though, here’s what you can expect fromNow You See Me: The Second Act:
One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public’s adulation with their mind-bending spectacles, the Four Horsemen resurface in NOW YOU SEE ME 2 only to find themselves face to face with a new enemy who enlists them to pull off their most dangerous heist yet.
