Eric Warren Singer Tapped to Pen Now You See Me 3!

After years of waiting for a new update on Now You See Me 3, Lionsgate has revealed that development is back underway with Oscar nominee Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle, Top Gun: Maverick) signing on to pen the script!

The third installment, which is based on a fresh take on the franchise from Singer, is being described as capturing “the fun, magic and spirt of the original” and will introduce new characters into the universe while also leaving the door open for the original cast members to reprise their roles should they be available, though no casting has currently been made on the project.

“Eric has always been fascinated with the fine art of deception and illusion in all of it 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,” Nathan Kahane, President of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in the announcement. “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.”

Pick up a digital copy of Now You See Me 2 here!

Jonathan Bayme and Theory 11 will serve as a magic consultant to the filmmakers while Bobby Cohen and Alex Kurtzman are set to produce the next installment through their banner Secret Hideout, while Meredith Wieck and Aaron Edmonds will oversee the project for Lionsgate.

The franchise, which began with 2013’s Now You See Me, follows a group of magicians and illusionists named The Four Horseman as they travel the globe pulling off bank robberies and heists during their shows to enact justice on those using their money for improper means. The debut featured an ensemble cast of Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson (Zombieland: Double Tap), Isla Fisher (Arrested Development), Dave Franco (6 Underground), Mark Ruffalo (Avengers: Endgame), Michael Caine (Tenet) and Morgan Freeman (Angel Has Fallen), and was a box office hit, grossing over $351 million worldwide on a $75 million budget.

Now You See Me 2, which hit theaters in 2016, saw the group forced to go on the run after being exposed by criminal mastermind Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe, Escape From Pretoria) and help him pull off a job stealing a valuable data chip. The sequel swapped out Fisher for Caplan, as the former was pregnant when production was set to begin, and was a similar success at the box office, grossing over $334 million on a $90 million budget.

Reports of a third installment began ahead of the sequel’s release, with Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer stating that early planning was underway and reports stating Caplan and Fisher were both in talks to reprise their roles while Benedict Cumberbatch (Avengers: Endgame) was in talks for an unknown, presumably antagonistic, role. It was also reported that Jon M. Chu (In the Heights) had signed on to helm a threequel after directing the second film, but no news has been revealed in the years since.

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