Summary

Now You See Me 3 is likely to be another cash grab in the movie industry, pushing out another sequel for profit rather than creative fulfillment. The marketing department’s interference in the title selection for Now You See Me 2 shows how the franchise prioritized profit over creativity, even at the expense of a clever joke. Now You See Me 3 will need to improve its tricks and story to succeed in the heist genre, as simply following the formula won’t lead to better reviews.

Now You See Me was a heist comedy franchise whose stellar cast plays a group of thieving magicians. Released in 2013, it yielded less than impressive reviews but was, for the most part, profitable, raking in $351 million worldwide gross against a $75 million budget. This led to the unimaginatively titled Now You See Me 2 three years later. This outing drew equally mixed reviews and a profit that was nearly $20 million less than the first amidst a slew of poor performances that Summer. Now, the cinematic community is abuzz with news that there might be a new addition to the franchise in the form of Now You See Me 3.

Will this franchise ender come to be known as a cinematic masterpiece? The answer is doubtful. The truth is, the prospects for this read like a lukewarm poker hand. True, they will have completed a trilogy, one where we can watch the talent of otherwise good actors disappear right before our very eyes. It’s also likely that other incredibly talented resumes will be brought on to help resurrect the franchise. But great filmmakers were involved in the first two films as well, screenwriters like Ed Solomon, Peter Chiarelli, Boaz Yakin, and Edward Ricourt, and directors like Jon M. Chu and Louis Leterrier.

Anyone new to the threequel will be forced to up the ante from a predictable heist movie littered with street-style special effects to something greater than your generic summer blockbuster. Now You See Me 3 would have to circumvent the failing of its predecessors, from mismatched religious iconography to the struggle to prove their one female magician isn’t just a token assistant. If these issues aren’t fully resolved, then we can only pray that the Four Horsemen remain in development hell, where they belong.

So why would we want a third movie? It’s certainly not for the plot, the special effects, or the deep, well-drawn characters. Here’s why Now You See Me 3 shouldn’t be made.

Updated November 3rd, 2023: Now you see some updates, thanks to MovieWeb writer Amanda Minchin.

The Now You See Me Series Is Little More Than a Cash Grab
Now You See Me Release Date May 29, 2013 Director Louis Leterrier Cast Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mélanie Laurent Rating PG-13 Main Genre Crime
In the Now You See Me series, actors and filmmakers take on the glamorous veneer of magic shows and reduce it down to an aesthetic. This is something we’ve seen before in other movie franchises. The Fast and Furious franchise, though profitable, takes what is essentially car culture, adds guns and product placement, and churns out another movie every three years, usually when Dodge wants another bump in sales. Marvel and DC do pretty much the same, but with comic books, and James Bond does it with spies.

Related: The Best Movies About Magicians, Ranked

This is likely also the plan for Now You See Me 3. In an age when everyone is trying to recreate the next MCU, Now You See Me has all the pieces in place to do so: an incredible ensemble cast (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Mark Ruffalo, and Morgan Freeman), a decent writer, and a director with the appropriate background for the film.

Producers will likely keep people interested by bringing on familiar big-name celebrities who starred in other magic-related roles. They did this in Now You See Me 2 with Daniel Radcliffe, so there’s no reason to think they won’t do it again. There was even a rumor of bringing on stars like Benedict Cumberbatch.

All of these things are good for producers, but what it represents in the movie industry is just another franchise pushing movies through a feeding tube to fans who will have fewer and fewer opportunities to see something honest, creative, and fulfilling. The hard truth is that sometimes we just don’t need a sequel.

The Now You See Me Franchise Let Marketing Take Over

The title of the first movie comes from the first half of an idiom commonly heard in magic shows – Now you see me… Now you don’t. Using it for the original’s title worked beautifully. If there were ever a case of a title writing itself, this would be it.

But instead of calling its sequel the most obvious choice, the idea was purportedly pulled because marketing was too afraid that the word “don’t” would somehow cost them money.

Collider quoted John Chu as saying:

“We tried very hard to call it Now You Don’t, but the marketing department — this is true — said, ‘We don’t like the word don’t in a title.”

This isn’t the first time this happened. Rian Johnson notably complained about the title of his movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery because he didn’t want the film to feel like a sequel. He wanted to make an independent story that just so happened to occur in the same universe.

And that’s what it comes down to. Some movies made specifically for profit, like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, are still quite enjoyable, if not, dare we say, fun to watch. Apparently, the Now You See Me franchise delves so deep into this newfound realm of greed that even something as simple and evident as the titular joke is ruined by a passing executive’s fancy.

Related: Why Now You See Me is Just Cheesy Enough to Work

Is Now You See Me 3 In the Works?
Lionsgate

Will there be a Now You See Me 3? The answer is, most likely. Lionsgate officially announced the return a full seven years after the previous installment this past October. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and Morgan Freeman are ready to reprise their roles. Whether actors Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, or Mark Ruffalo will make an appearance is still under wraps.

The behind-the-scenes staff has also received a massive overhaul. Newcomers like director Ruben Fleischer, known for the success of films like Zombieland and Venom, and screenwriter Michael Lesslie, known for adaptations like 2015’s Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, have both been tasked with providing a fresh perspective to the franchise.

Of course, it also helps that the former has already worked with two of the lead ensemble actors before. Said Fleischer of the opportunity,

“To have the chance to work with these two talented actors, as well as rest of the incredible cast of the Now You See Me movies is a dream come true. I am a lifelong fan of heist movies – I love getting drawn in by the twists and the mystery where nothing is what it seems. And that’s even more true when the thieves are magicians – the opportunities are endless. Eric was able to unlock a fresh and exciting way into a new movie and fun new characters, so I’m excited to dig in even further.”

The third installment will likely chronicle the group’s missions as members of The Eye, a group of similarly gifted, like-minded magicians with a distinct Robin Hood complex. Whether they’ll be running missions on their own or taking on a more Leverage-based approach to their update is yet to be seen.

What Now You See Me 3 Needs to Succeed

This massive threequel undertaking will need to amp up both its tricks and its story in order to survive the mean streets of Tinseltown.

The whole point of the magic and tricks is that they’re meant to be performed live. You can make the Statue of Liberty disappear with Photoshop, but when David Copperfield did it, it was in front of an audience on Liberty Island. Nearly every trick shown in Now You See Me loses its luster when done with special effects or if extras are paid to pretend they’re amazed by it.

It’s important to remember that not all tricks need to be flashy in order to be successful on screen. Perhaps one of the more iconic stunts of the series came from the disappearing card trick scene in Now You See Me 2. In it, each member of the crew must pass along a card in order to pass through security. In doing so, each member is able to put their own particular brand of magic on display. This alone is Character Work 101; no Statue of Liberty is required, just lots of preparation and a whole lot of cameras.

Also problematic is the narrative. The action/comedy/heist genre is one that comes and goes every few years. Known for its broad appeal and interwoven story structure, comps like Ocean’s 11 or the Netflix series Money Heist do well because they reinvent the original formula. They don’t try to complicate things by clashing Christian iconography with Egyptian myth. They don’t use the same old villain reveal or the ridiculously circuitous explanation of how the hero pretended to be caught only to spoil the villain’s plan in the end. Following the plot of every heist movie ever made won’t get them better reviews. Changing the narrative will.

Will they be able to pull off this particular magic trick and succeed? Unfortunately, a magician never reveals their secrets. We, the purportedly tantalized audience, will just have to wait and see.

Want to watch the first two? Both Now You See Me, and Now You See Me 2 are available to stream on Max.