Yahoo Movies Ruben Fleischer Tapped to Direct ‘Now You See Me 3’
Lionsgate has tapped Ruben Fleischer to direct the third installment of action-heist franchise “Now You See Me.”
The “Venom,” “Uncharted” and “Zombieland” director will take the helm of the third installment of the story of the thieving illusionists know as the Four Horsemen, while also featuring a new generation of characters.
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Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Nathan Kahane announced the new film, which will get a new draft of the screenplay by “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith. The previous draft was by Eric Warren Singer.
The previous films starred Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco and Morgan Freeman, and have grossed $687 million worldwide.
The new installment will be produced by Bobby Cohen, alongside Alex Kurtzman of Secret Hideout. Meredith Wieck and Chisom Ude will oversee for Lionsgate.
Fleischer said in a statement, “There are three things in this world I absolutely love… Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and magic. 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.”
Kahane added, “Ruben has proven time and again that he has a special talent with character-driven blockbuster entertainment. He delivers big excitement while ultimately keeping the focus on the characters audiences care about. We feel like we’ve assembled a dream team to get this movie off the ground. For everyone we’ve kept in suspense, the wait is almost over.”
Robert Melnik negotiated the deals on behalf of Lionsgate. Fleisher is represented by CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Grahame-Smith is represented by WME and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
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