Lionsgate has hired Eric Warren Singer, an Oscar nominee for his work on American Hustle, to write the heist thriller Now You See Me 3, based on a fresh take by Singer.
“Eric has always been fascinated with the fine art of deception and illusion in all of its 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,” said Nathan Kahane, President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group who made the announcement today with Erin Westerman, President of Motion Picture Production for the studio. “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.”
The film will be the third installment of the Now You See Me franchise, which has grossed $687 million WW. The previous pics starred Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Morgan Freeman, among others. No casting has been set yet for the threequel.
Singer’s fresh take will capture the fun, magic, and spirit of the original, introducing new characters into the world while also creating opportunities for the original cast to reprise their roles.
Jonathan Bayme and his company Theory 11 will serve as a magic consultant to the filmmakers. Bobby Cohen and Alex Kurtzman of Secret Hideout are teaming up again to produce. Meredith Wieck and Aaron Edmonds will oversee the project for Lionsgate. Dan Freedman and Giselle Weber oversaw legal for the Lionsgate deal.
Singer co-wrote American Hustle with director David O. Russell. He is also one of the scribes on Paramount/Skydance’s upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, due out on Dec. 23. He is represented by Mark Gochman at Gochman Law Group.
