‘Now You See Me 3' renewed or canceled: Lionsgate confirms 3rd film in ‘early planning’ – What’s the update now?

The “Now You See Me” franchise became a worldwide hit for several factors such as its star-studded cast and its twists-filled plot in the first two movies. So even if the second film saw a slight decline in box office sales, many moviegoers are still looking to forward to watching the next heist in “Now You See Me 3.”

The sad thing, however, is that Lionsgate and the movie cast have been mum about the state of the “Now You See Me 3” production. Many fans have since been questioning the possibility of seeing the third movie ever hit the big screen.

‘Now You See Me 3’ production update: Is the movie still happening?

It can be said that “Now You See Me 3” is not canceled yet. It can be recalled that Lionsgate confirmed they have already started planning for the third installment movie in 2015. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer reportedly called it “early planning,” so it meant that the movie was likely slated to be released within the next few years at the time.

Considering the time it took to make the second movie since the release of the first one, it was not far-fetched to initially hope that “Now You See Me 3” could have premiered in 2019. But with the year down to its final quarter, it now looks like it will not happen.

Lionsgate has not announced anything about canceling “Now You See Me 3.” There were also earlier reports that Lionsgate reached out to Neil Widener and Gavin James in 2016 to write the script, so there is an apparent effort to develop the movie.

‘Now You See Me 3’ renewed or canceled: Decline in US box office sends movie series to limbo?

In the business aspect, if Lionsgate is hesitating to produce “Now You See Me 3,” there might be a good reason for it. The second movie had strong worldwide support, but it still could not make up for the massive decline in the United States box office.

The first movie garnered more than $117 million sales in the U.S. box office, but it plunged to $65 million for the sequel. Meanwhile, worldwide fans delivered over 80 percent of the second movie’s box office at more than $269 million driving up the overall worldwide gross to almost $335 million versus the first movie’s $351 million.