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Arriving in theaters this weekend is Now You See Me 2, the follow-up to the surprise hit about a band of merry magicians known as The Horsemen who take a cue from Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and corrupt to give back to the everyday folk. The sequel brings the Horsemen back together again for another round of their old tricks, from the elaborate heists to the magic fights(!), and offers up a healthy infusion of new blood in the process, both behind the camera Jon Chu taking over for Louis Letterier at the helm, and Lizzy Caplan joining the ranks of the infamous team of illusionists for their next big show.

With Caplan's Lula ostensibly stepping in for Isla Fisher's Henley, Now You See Me 2 easily could have fallen prey to a sense of copy-paste sensibility, but fortunately, rather than treat the female Horsemen like interchangeable parts, the film handles the obvious lead changeover with a dose of self-awareness and offbeat charm. Lula isn't a Henley redux, in fact, she is odd as hell and a delightfully unique addition to the ranks of the oft-negligible leading ladies of the summer blockbuster season. And she plays like gangbusters off of Dave Franco's Jack Wilder, the underdog cardsmith and unexpected standout from the first film.


I recently sat down with Caplan and Franco at the film's New York junket to talk about the sequel. We chatted about having the opportunity to dig into Lula's weirdness, her unusual and grotesque style of magic, getting weird with their characters' eccentric romance, getting mentalized by Woody Harrelson, and more. Check out what they had to say in the video above.

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Image via Lionsgate

Lizzy Caplan and Dave Franco:

  • Talk about what an unconventional role Lula is and how unusual it is for character's like that to end up a romantic lead.
  • How did they find the right chemistry for their weird little romance?
  • Talk about how well everybody on set got along.
  • Did Woody Harrelson ever succesfully try to mentalize them?

Here’s the official synopsis for Now You See Me 2:

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 MABRY [Daniel Radcliffe], 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.

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Image via Lionsgate

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Image via Lionsgate
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Image via Lionsgate
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Image via Lionsgate