"We did it the old-fashioned way"- Now You See Me: Now You Don't director denies using AI to create the magic tricks in the film

The Now You See Me: Now You Don't director Ruben Fleischer recently reassured fans of the magic-heist franchise, stating, "We did it the old-fashioned way," to firmly deny the use of artificial intelligence in creating the illusions for the newest installment. In a recent interview with Variety, published on November 14, 2025, the Venom director stated:

"No, we didn’t use any AI. The opening sequence nods to deep fakes. I think you can assume the characters in the movie used AI to generate the holograms of the Horsemen from scratch, but we did it the old-fashioned way, which was shooting them on green screen and then compositing them into the scene, which didn’t require any AI whatsoever."

The film, which was released on November 14, 2025, sees the return of the original Four Horsemen, including Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Isla Fisher, alongside new cast additions like Justice Smith and Ariana Greenblatt. Now You See Me: Now You Don't also features Michael Caine, marking his first film after retirement.

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Director of Now You See Me: Now You Don't dismisses rumors of AI-generated magic sequences

Ruben Fleischer at the CinemaCon 2025 (Image via Getty) Fleischer

Fleischer's interview with Variety focused mainly on logistical challenges and the future of the series. He also discussed Mark Ruffalo's busy schedule, limiting him to a greenscreen-shot hologram cameo in the film. The Now You See Me: Now You Don't director said:

"He’s a very busy guy, and so he was only able to be in the film because we did some reshoots this summer. He wasn’t originally available over the course of principal photography. He actually wasn’t even available during our reshoots, but I was lucky to catch him for a day in New York, and we shot him against a green screen."

Fleischer also confirmed that the studio was so impressed with the film's "dailies" (raw footage) that they quickly greenlit Now You See Me 4 immediately after principal photography wrapped. He added:

"When we were done shooting, they started to talk about it. I guess they’d seen a lot of the dailies and were feeling good about it and had the confidence to move forward. We’re working on the script now, and hopefully that’ll be ready so we can make it next year."

Now screening in theatres, Now You See Me: Now You Don't begins with a disbanded Four Horsemen crew, who are tricked into reuniting after crossing paths with a new, younger trio of talented magicians.

The original Horsemen, namely, Atlas, Merritt, Jack, and the returning Henley Reeves, are tasked by The Eye to steal "The Heart," the world's largest diamond. This mission targets Veronika Vanderberg, a ruthless South African diamond mogul who secretly launders money for global crime syndicates.

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