Despite various reports of Benedict Cumberbatch (Avengers: Endgame) joining the cast and Isla Fisher (Tag) returning, it’s been years of radio silence on a potential Now You See Me 3 and now Jon M. Chu, director of the second installment in the franchise, has opened up about the delays on the third installment in the box office hit franchise.
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While chatting with ComingSoon.net for the Apple TV+ series, Home Before Dark, on which he executive produces and directs the first two episodes, Chu revealed that, much like star Jesse Eisenberg (Resistance) who we chatted with last month, he hasn’t “heard anything in a while” sine the original circulation of news in 2017.
Before I did Crazy Rich Asians, there was a version [of the script] that was okay, but we weren’t going to drag everyone back until it was great. So we let it be in Lionsgate’s hands for a second, so we’ll see what happens. I would love to work with Jesse again, he’s one of my favorite people in the world.
Pick up a digital copy of Now You See Me 2 here!
Prior to working on Home Before Dark, Chu was helming a variety of big-screen efforts including the music documentary, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and the second and third installments of the Step Up franchise before trying his hand at more blockbuster affair including G.I. Joe: Retaliation and the Golden Globe-nominated Crazy Rich Asians. While he’s currently waiting to unveil his adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights after its recent delay, Chu has found the small-screen world to be a fascinating venture.
The exploration of longer-form storytelling like this show and other shows is something I would love to do. It’s very exciting getting to dig deeper into characters that have just as much fun and pizazz as a movie like Now You See Me, which was so much fun to do. But going deeper into these characters layer by layer is just so exciting and the opportunity I got in this was amazing. So we’ll have to wait and see about Now You See Me 3 or Now You 3 Me.
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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.
Home Before Dark is currently available for streaming on Apple TV+!
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