'Now You See Me 3' Will Make Jon M. Chu Reappear As Director

Even though Now You See Me 2 isn't hitting theaters until this summer, that's not stopping Lionsgate from getting another sequel in the magician heist franchise ready to go. Lionsgate has set the first sequel's director, Jon M. Chu, to return to direct Now You See Me 3. Get more details on the film's development after the jump.

Now You See Me 3 was actually already announced by Lionsgate nearly a year ago, but now that they've locked down Chu to return to direct, that's even more of a vote of confidence in the second film in the series. Variety has word on the Now You See Me 3 director hiring, but there's no word on whether or not the entire cast from the sequel will be returning.

Jon M. Chu has become the go-to director for sequels, having previously helmed Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the latter being a vast improvement over the first film in the toy-based action franchise at Paramount Pictures. Beyond that, Chu was also at the helm of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, the concert documentary that we'll see parodied this summer in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

As for what we can expect in Now You See Me 3, that remains to be seen, if only because we don't know how Now You See Me 2 is going to play out just yet. Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are all back for Now You See Me 2. However, Lizzy Caplan has stepped up as a new character in place of Isla Fisher, who became pregnant before production was supposed to begin, and thus couldn't take part. One would assume everyone would be back for the third, but maybe Isla Fisher will come back as well.

In addition, Daniel Radcliffe is a new character in the movie. Michael Caine previously said that Radcliffe was playing his son in the film. The Harry Potter star's character is said to be Walter Marby, while Michael Caine plays Arthur Tressler. They don't have the same name, but maybe that's misdirection for the twist that will be Radcliffe helping his father get revenge on the magicians who tricked his father in the first film. We'll have to wait and see.

You can watch the most recent trailer for Now You See Me 2 right here. Otherwise, here's the official synopsis for the sequel written by Ed Solomon and Peter Chiarelli:

The Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan) return for a second mind-bending adventure, elevating the limits of stage illusion to new heights and taking them around the globe. One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public's adulation with their Robin Hood-style magic spectacles, the illusionists resurface for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate. The man behind their vanishing act is none other than Walter Marby, a tech prodigy who threatens the Horsemen into pulling off their most impossible heist yet. Their only hope is to perform one last unprecedented stunt to clear their names and reveal the mastermind behind it all.

Now You See Me 2 arrives June 10.