Nearly a decade after dazzling audiences with sleight-of-hand heists and smoke-and-mirror justice, the iconic Four Horsemen are galloping back into theaters with Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. Lionsgate just dropped the first trailer, and this third installment is giving main character energy to more than just its illusions.
Original stars Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, and Woody Harrelson are back to their trickster antics. But this time, they’re joined by a bold new cast — including Saltburn’s Rosamund Pike, whose performance in the psychosexual fever dream still lives rent-free in queer cinematic history. Pike’s casting alone has already sent LGBTQ fans into a frenzy, especially given her track record with morally ambiguous women who slay — sometimes literally.
And speaking of Barbie girls living in a magical world, Arianna Greenblatt, who played Sasha in Barbie, is also hopping on board the illusion train. With Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa rounding out the newcomers, and heavyweights like Morgan Freeman, Daniel Radcliffe, and Mark Ruffalo reprising their original roles, this film is shaping up to be a blockbuster of epic — and fabulously chaotic — proportions.
A magic trick with a queer twist
The official logline promises a new generation of illusionists “performing mind-melding twists, turns, surprises and magic unlike anything ever captured on film.” It’s a tall order, but if there’s one thing this franchise knows how to do, it’s blur the line between reality and spectacle — much like queerness itself, which has always thrived in liminal spaces.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Venom, Uncharted), the film has been in production for months, with Jesse Eisenberg joking about breaking his finger on set: “We’ve been in Budapest for the last three months, and I almost made it till the end without breaking anything,” he quipped. “The movie is really astounding… The set pieces, the magic, the ensemble — it’s truly miraculous.”
LGBTQ fans have long embraced the franchise’s flair for the dramatic, its anti-establishment themes, and its camp sensibility. But this newest entry ups the queer appeal, intentionally or not, by bringing in actors known for their roles in queer-coded or LGBTQ-celebrated works. From Pike’s haunting role in Saltburn to Greenblatt’s Barbie-fueled Gen Z icon status, the cast is as much a statement as the plot.
Queer-coded magic or mainstream mayhem?
While Now You See Me has never explicitly featured LGBTQ characters, the fandom’s affection for the franchise lies in its aesthetic — a swirling cocktail of glamor, mischief, and rebellion. Whether the third film finally steps into overtly queer territory remains to be seen, but even coded representation can still serve as a mirror for audiences craving nuance in their on-screen magic.
And let’s not kid ourselves — queers love a good heist. Especially one where the real trick is flipping the script on power and control. So whether Rosamund Pike turns out to be villain, hero, or a morally grey goddess (our money’s on the latter), this film is already casting a spell on LGBTQ fans ahead of its November 14, 2025 release.
Bottom line: if you like your magic tricks served with a side of femme fatale, queer-coded chaos, and a sprinkle of anti-capitalist sleight of hand — Now You Don’t is about to become your fall obsession.