'Now You See Me' Sequel Gets Conjured Up

As the studios continue to jam the summer months with more and more blockbusters, we've seen a dramatic impact on the bottom line of films expected to be huge hits. With The Lone Ranger, The Hangover Part III, Oblivion, and After Earth wildly underperforming, there's a reason why it's been called the "Summer of Flops". But one film that surprised many with how it performed was the star-studded heist film Now You See Me, and now Lionsgate wants to see more.

While it's apparently in the very early stages, the studio is getting the ball rolling on a sequel to the  crime caper, which had a team of illusionists pulling off fancy Robin Hood-style heists. Leaning heavily on an exciting ensemble that included Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson and many more, it proved to be a success both here and abroad, earning $233M worldwide with some markets still to go.

It's unclear if a writer has been attached yet, nor is there any word who from the prior film will return, including director Louis Leterrier.  With production set o begin next year, so it can be a part of the overstuffed 2015 slate, we should be hearing concrete info on any casting very soon. Frankly, this sounds like a terrible idea, because so much of what made Now You See Me work was that it was such an unusual, original concept. A sequel would completely remove that edge, and in a year that will see Star Wars 7, The Avengers 2, Man of Steel 2, 'Pirates 5', Ant-Man, Jurassic Park 4 and a whole lot more, it'll be tough to stand out from the pack. [THR]