Magicians as Robin Hoods, using their cardistry and escapology skills to beat The Man.

That’s the idea of Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2, now in theaters. The Four Horsemen are back, and the actors behind them had to learn more illusions to play the part, with the help of chief magic and mentalism consultant Keith Barry.

The approach to the magic of the franchise changed as Jon M. Chu took the director’s chair for the sequel. While the first movie featured some “illusions of tomorrow” that can’t be done in reality (Isla Fisher in a bubble!), Chu was determined to do the movie’s magic in-camera, in real time, with as little CGI as possible. With the first film, director Louis Leterrier had asked magicians, “What effects have you always wanted to perform but don’t quite have the method for it yet?” There is some CGI enhancement in the sequel, but largely Chu and his team committed to real-world illusions.

Ireland-born Barry had consulted on the mentalism of the first movie, prepping Woody Harrelson to play hypnotist Merritt McKinney. On Now You See Me 2, he’s consulting on all the magic of the film, along with David Copperfield, who’s credited as a co-producer on the film….

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