Twelve years after the first instalment of the franchise Now You See Me hit the theatres, and nine years after the sequel, we have the third Now You See Me: Now You Don’t movie that will be released on November 14th, 2025. This time we’ll see some old as well as some new magicians joining the squad. Isla Fisher is back after missing the second movie along with the rest of the original cast, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo and the legendary Morgan Freeman. Joining the initial team of illusionists are Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa, each character with its own unique set of skills, adding fresh energy to the storyline.
Even though Now You See Me 2 didn’t get rave reviews from the critics, the audience still loved it. On some platforms, experts rated it at 30%, but they were the only ones. People who watched the first and the second movie loved it, at least 80% of them. Riding the wave of approval from the audience, the director Ruben Fleischer started working on the third movie that we’ll see this year. Not only that, but the fourth movie is in the works, which was confirmed by the distributor Lionsgate, however, without a precise release date.
But to focus on what’s upcoming for sure in November this year. The Four Horsemen are back in action, guided by The Eye, the invisible, mysterious entity that directs their every move, giving them new tasks to better mankind. The new age Robin Hood crew, after ending up in Macao last time, ended the last movie with the camera zooming out on them in the secret staircase, showing us the Eye.
This time around, the story continues in the same manner, taking the audience for a ride around the globe. The mission? Piercing through a tight circle of rich folks plagued with corruption and crime, stealing the mother of all diamonds, the heart-shaped, priceless piece of carbon. Still, looks like this is gearing up to be a mix of Money Heist and James Bond. But no worries, there are still a lot of good ol’ playing card tricks that the illusionists are using in their tricks. For the audience who is looking forward to some magical tricks using the common cards, not the Tarot, even though it seems to be a big part of every story from the start, traditional games that are played every day in traditional and online casinos, including crypto casinos, are incorporated into the movie. So, there’s something for everyone: the thrill of the chase, the magic, The Eye, Tarot cards and, of course, money.
The new movie opens up with J. Daniel Atlas signing up a new team, claiming that his old associates are “dead” to him. However, as the story goes on, the old characters are all back, helping the new, and less experienced teammates with the heist. Jumping at the right moment, saving the day, and their lives. This time, they have Morgan Freeman, or Thaddeus Bradley, on their side. Dylan Rhodes is still their leader, who is closely connected with the Eye enigma. It’s unclear whether or not even Rhodes knows who The Eye I,s but it seems like he follows someone’s orders, leading the group into new endeavours. The movie, just like the previous two and judging by the trailer, is packed with disappearing acts, high-octane action, and trickery. For the audience that enjoyed the first movie back in 2013 with many card tricks that were clearly tied to games we all know like poker, blackjack and baccarat fear not, besides playing them on Stake.com, you can again wallow in magic shenanigans in a team’s monumental attempt to steal the world’s biggest diamond.
The third part of the franchise will take place around Europe, starting in Budapest, Hungary, and continuing in Antwerp, Belgium, touching down in Abu Dhabi’s iconic landmarks like Ferrari World and Yas Marina, finishing back in Europe again in November 2024. It’s one of the signatures of every sequel so far, with the previous one being filmed in Macau. Exotic places, famous landmarks and quick transfers across the world is something the audience is used to from the previous films and is certainly expecting to see in the upcoming third part as well.
Also, the movie for the first time, has some political memos hidden in the storyline, which wasn’t the case so far. Mostly, the focus was on tricks, magic and entertainment with locations that go along with such stories like Las Vegas, New York, etc. However, the writers Seth Grahame-Smith, Michael Lesslie, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick tried to subtly intertwine the plot of taking from the rich and giving it to the poor with the rising animosities in many Western societies towards the super-rich. Political issues are not exactly tackled in the movie, but there are some scenes where audiences can clearly recognise which side the filmmakers stand for. In any case, the movie is still primarily fun to watch with fast turnarounds and unbelievable magic tricks.
To create a buzz around the movie, the first trailer was released more than six months before the movie was scheduled to hit the theatres. It gave us a quick rundown of what to expect and an appetite to go and see the film. Also, the majestic move on the part of filmmakers and Lionsgate happened on the day the first trailer was released, April 29, when people who texted a certain number got a surprise deposit through Venmo. This nonfiction trick, which cost the studio around $250K, was one of the best campaigns ever to happen in Hollywood. Overnight, the movie went from just another Hollywood marketing film that wasn’t even on anyone’s radar to being one of the most talked-about upcoming movies.
The audience was thrilled by this stunt, especially given the economy nowadays, spreading the word across social media. Ordinary people were over the moon with a few unexpected bucks on their accounts talking about the plot of the film, as well as boosting the fame of the former movies. It sparked the convos about the economy, rich vs poor, do we really need billionaires and all other social and political debates. The ultimate trick pulled by Lionsgate is most likely going to bring them multiple returns on investment. No marketing agency could do what one simple act did for the movie, setting it on the path to becoming a massive blockbuster in 2025.
The cast is mostly the same, with a few newbies and one comeback. Here’s who we’ll see doing tricks this time.
Jesse Eisenberg
The actor will continue in his role as J. Daniel Atlas, the leader of the group. In the first movie, the clan functioned as one, while in the second, they faced the fallout, causing the magicians to split. In Now You See Me 3, Atlas hammered out a new crew of three magicians but paid the price of inexperience on their first task. In the James Bond style, while the trick of stealing the most precious diamond in the world is coming apart, the old team bursts onto the scene, saving their old partner in crime along with his new assistants.
Eisenberg couldn’t reveal much of the plot besides what we saw in the trailer, but he did talk about the magical mood on the set throughout the filming. Hopefully, the magic will also be brushed off to the screen.Privately, Eisenberg has been married since 2001 to Anna Strout, and the couple have one child.
Isla Fisher
The actress is back in the third instalment of the movie, after missing out on the second in 2016 due to pregnancy. Fisher was married to Sasha Baron Cohen from 2010 to 2024, and the famous couple share three children.
Her character, Henley Reeves, is an escape artist and a bitter ex of J. Daniel Atlas. Also, she is the only woman among the Four Horsemen, who was replaced in the second movie by Lizzy Caplan. However, Fisher is back on the team, playing the magician, specialising in magical escapes that defy the laws of physics.
Dave Franco
The youngest member of the gang, Jack Wilder, comes back to save the newly formed crew by magically appearing on the scene in front of panicked Atlas, whose trick started to unravel. He is the youngest member of the Four Horsemen and was a simple street magician and pickpocket before joining the group. In the first movie, his character was supposed to die in a high-speed car chase with the FBI agents, but miraculously survives and reappears after the dust settles.
When he’s not filming, the actor spends time with his wife, actress Alison Brie. The couple tied the knot in 2017.
Woody Harrelson
The famous actor comes back as one of the most interesting characters in the movie, Merritt McKinney, a mentalist and hypnotist. His persona has so many layers and was rightfully given to an experienced actor who can pull it off. McKinney adds humour, albeit bitter and often grim, but humour nonetheless. The oldest among them brings sarcasm, experience, life baggage, and a whole lot of personal hidden problems into the story. He is funnily unhelpful and hilariously simple in his role as a mentalist, where he hypnotises people while giving their spouses life lessons by revealing their darkest secrets. Not for free, though. The uglier the secret, the more money will be landing in his pockets.
Remarkable and entertaining, Woody Harrelson carries the role amazingly naturally, with talent and charm. Woody has been married for the past fifteen years to his wife, Laura Louie, with whom he has three children.
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo’s character, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes, is somewhat of a mystery in itself. Rhodes was confirmed as being part of the cast but was not seen in the trailer. The actor confirmed that he will be returning to Now You See Me 3 in some capacity without specifying the details. In any case, the agent turned magician, and the only member of the crew who is hiding in plain sight, communicating with The Eye, will play some part in the third movie. The character has a long personal history with magic, which was partially revealed in the first movie, with more details in the sequel. Will his story continue to unravel? Is Rhodes The Eye? There were no hints in the first trailer that something like that is brewing, but we have two more films to go, at least.
Off-screen, Ruffalo has been married to Sunrise Coigney since 2000 and has welcomed three children together.
Morgan Freeman
The legendary actor decided to join in on the action again in the third movie, although his return wasn’t confirmed until the last minute when we saw him in the trailer. Freeman plays Thaddeus Bradley, a former magician who sets out to reveal all the secrets of the trade and expose magicians as crooks. His work attracts many wealthy people whose egos can’t stand being played by the street hypnotist and purse-picking duds, profiting heavily from his connections in the world he was once a part of. This time, he tries to bring down the old crew that’s missing in action at the moment, with newbies who are psyched to be part of something so magnificent like working with J. Daniel Atlas and Thaddeus Bradley.
Dominic Sessa
The young actor stars in the Now You See Me franchise for the first time as Bosco, the leader of the new group of magicians. In the trailer, we can see him shaming the audience by claiming to be Atlas. He got his breakthrough in the industry by playing the late chef Anthony Bourdain.
Ariana Greenblatt
The actress took this role very seriously by joining the Magic Castle, an academy for magic enthusiasts. Greenblatt started her career on the Disney Channel and got her big break in the Barbie movie.
Justice Smith
Smith plays Charlie, one of the new magicians on the team. The actor had some roles on Nickelodeon and in Jurassic Park in 2018, but this role might just be the big break he was waiting for.
