15 Bits of Behind-The-Scenes Trivia About the ‘Now You See Me’ Franchise
For some reason, no one at the studio thought Now You See Me would kill it at the box office. Getting some stars on board was enough to throw $75 million at it, so is that like chump change to these people?! Compared to Marvel movies, we guess so. Well, luckily for everyone involved, the semi-small magic movie brought in MCU-level box office dollars and sparked a franchise.Money aside, let’s get to the magic. The movie magic. These actors and on-set magicians can worry about the illusions, but as always, we’re hyper-focused on the magic that goes into movie-making. Boy, are we suckers for behind-the-scenes little tidbits. The third installment, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t just recently hit theaters, so we wanted to spill the beans on how their movie-magic tricks are done, whether they wanted us to or not! Muahahaha!
15 They brought in real magicians
Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe filmmakers hired pros like David Kwong and Keith Barry to train the cast with countless hours of card shuffling, coin palming, and misdirection drills. Come shooting time, Jesse Eisenberg could really pull those tricks off.
14 Dave Franco can throw cards with the best of ‘em
Photo: ShutterstockFor his role as Jack Wilder, Franco trained with experts to master high-velocity card throwing. He can now slice through a banana midair.
13 Lizzy Caplan’s decapitation trick wasn’t just a freaky illusion
Photo: ShutterstockIn Now You See Me 2, the trick was a practical effect that took months to choreograph. Without green screens or VFX shortcuts, Caplan had to contort herself inside a custom-built stage prop with hidden compartments, making it look like her head was completely detached from her body.
12 Isla Fisher almost drowned
Photo: LionsgateWhile filming the first movie’s water escape stunt, Fisher was supposed to thrash around in a water tank while pretending to drown, but the safety release malfunctioned, and she started actually drowning. The crew thought it was acting until she ran out of air and pressed the panic button. The moment is actually in the final cut.
11 A magician cameo
Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn Now You See Me 2, Irish mentalist Keith Barry (who consulted on both films) makes a cameo performing a quick bird trick — which is a nod to his real-life stage act.
10 Jesse Eisenberg broke his finger
Source: Wikimedia CommonsWhile filming the third Now You See Me, Jesse Eisenberg broke his finger on set, but he kept filming. He insisted on pushing through scenes, adapting his performance to work around the injury without letting it show.
9 Now You See Me: Now You Don't almost didn’t happen
Photo: ShutterstockThe movie faced major delays, rewrites and studio shuffling, and it seemed like it might be stuck in development limbo. Solid box office numbers from the first two films and a steady stream of social media buzz pushed it forward.
8 New crew in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t
Photo: ShutterstockThe original Four Horsemen return, but they’re joined by a younger crew of illusionists played by Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, and Ariana Greenblatt. The story centers on a massive diamond heist involving a crime family and a legendary jewel called the Heart Diamond.
7 The exotic filming locations
Photo: ShutterstockThe first two films jumped between Las Vegas, Paris, and Macau, and the third one shot in Budapest, Antwerp, and Abu Dhabi.
6 Woody Harrelson practiced mentalism and hypnosis
Photo: ShutterstockHe and his co-stars performed hypnosis for volunteers on set, and Harrelson has even used self-hypnosis for pain management following a past car accident.
5 Lizzy Caplan replaced Isla Fisher for the sequel
Due to Isla Fisher's real-life pregnancy, Lizzy Caplan joined the second film to play a new character, Lula May.
4 Morgan Freeman’s “interrogation blackout” scene
Photo: LionsgateFor this scene, they used an old-school practical trick with a combination of a controlled lighting drop, a rotating stage element, and a match cut. There was no digital removal — the effect is basically a modern spin on a stage illusion.
3 The first film originally had a supernatural ending
Early drafts included a reveal that the Eye was a literal ancient magical society with overt powers. The studio and director eventually toned that down, keeping the “Eye” mysterious but not explicitly supernatural.
2 Daniel Radcliffe’s reason for joining in
Photo: ShutterstockGiven his Harry Potter legacy, he appeared in the sequel because he loved the idea of playing a magician who is bad at magic. He specifically asked for scenes where he clumsily fumbles with props.
1 The sets were built for illusions
Rather than rely entirely on CGI, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t leans heavily into practical effects. The “chateau” has multiple trick rooms like a rotating room, a hall of mirrors, and even an “infinity staircase” built with reflective Mylar and angled mirrors to create mind-bending perspectives.
