It may be a little tough to believe, but the magician heist pic Now You See Me was one of the highest grossing films of this summer.  With a domestic gross of $116 million, the film made more at the U.S. box office than tentpoles like The Hangover Part III, Pacific Rim, White House Down, and yes The Lone Ranger.  As such, it didn’t come as a huge shock when Summit Entertainment announced that it was moving forward with a sequel, with filming planned to get underway in 2014.  While we still don’t know anything about the film’s plot, director Louis Leterrier has now confirmed that he will be returning to the director’s chair.  Hit the jump for more, including how a sequel was always a part of the plan.

now-you-see-me-2-jesse-eisenberg-woody-harrelson

Speaking with ComingSoon, Leterrier confirmed that he will return to helm Now You See Me 2, and revealed that the first film was always planned as one half of a larger story:

“I'm currently, not writing, but we're coming up with the story, the plot, the everything, the twist and the new characters and everything. It was always at least a diptych, two movies, to tell one long story, so yeah, I'm very much involved in it. I don't know if it's going to be my next movie. I know we want to do it pretty fast but I might be able to do another movie in between."

It’s unclear how many characters from the first film will be back, but if Now You See Me was indeed planned as a potential franchise, one imagines Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, etc. are contractually signed on for at least a second film.  With filming set to get underway next year, we should hear more about the Now You See Me sequel soon.

now-you-see-me-2-sequel-woody-harrelson