Now You See Me: Now You Don’t director Ruben Fleischer says signing on to direct the third installment in the magician-heist franchise was an opportunity to make fun movies that people love, and to reunite once again with Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson.
“I love the first two Now You See Me movies. And that was in part because they star my pals Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson – we worked together on Zombieland 1 and 2,” Fleischer tells GamesRadar+. “And it was after Zombieland 2, I thought to myself, if I can just keep working with people I love and making movies that are just really fun for the rest of my career, I’ll be very happy. And so when this came about, it was not only an opportunity to work with those two, but also the rest of the cast, who I’ve always admired from a distance, Isla, Dave – Morgan Freeman obviously is a legend. And I just was really excited to join that family as well and to continue to have fun making movies for audiences to love all throughout the world.”
Zombieland, starring Eisenberg and Harrelson, marked Fleischer’s feature directorial debut and was a box office success. The post-apocalyptic zombie comedy grossed $104 million worldwide against a budget of $23 million, but wouldn’t see a sequel until 2019. In the meantime, Fleischer worked with Eisenberg on the 2011 action-comedy Thirty Minutes or Less. In 2021, he directed Harrelson in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
“That’s why this was my fourth time with [Woody and Jesse] because they’re truly the funnest people to work with,” Fleischer explains. “I think Woody Harrelson is an American treasure, and there’s no one else like him for better or worse in the world. And he is such an interesting actor to watch, and he just delights me in everything he brings to it. It’s always unexpected. It’s always original.”
In the Now You See Me franchise, Eisenberg plays Atlas, the leader of a world-renowned group of master illusionists and magicians known as the Four Horsemen. Harrelson stars as Merritt McKinney, the oldest member of the group who specializes in mentalism and hypnosis. In the third installment, the group has been broken up for over 10 years…but a mysterious new mission involving a billionaire, a diamond, and a Nazi bloodline brings them together. Horsemen members Dave Franco and Isla Fisher return, alongside Lizzy Caplan and Morgan Freeman. They team up with a young group of magicians (Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, and Ariana Greenblatt) and embark on a dangerous journey that takes them around the world. Rosamund Pike plays the aforementioned billionaire.
Continues Fleischer: “And I think if you were to look up the definition of the word mensch in the dictionary, I think Jesse Eisenberg would appear, because he’s just the kindest, most generous, humble, selfless, talented, brilliant people I am lucky enough to know. I adore him in every way and feel really lucky to get to work with him. And if I could do every project with Jesse, I promise you I would, because he’s the greatest.”
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t will levitate into theaters on November 14, 2025. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or, check out our list of movie release dates.
