‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ Has A Final Trick, A Twist, and A Sequel Tease

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS

One of the pleasures of the Now You See Me movies is the final trick, an elaborate show-stopper set-piece that highlights how everything was all a part of the same fiendish illusion. It’s the grand heist in an Ocean’s movie, or that bit in a murder-mystery where the detective sits everyone down and explains whodunit. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is no different, but its ending also pulls triple-duty as the unveiling of a pretty well-hidden twist and the setup for a fourth movie.

There are actually a couple of twists here, but they’re nested together in a fun way, so unpacking one means pulling it up through the other. Anyone who didn’t catch the first two movies might be a little confused by some of the goings-on, but luckily, I’m on hand to break everything down. If nothing else, you’ll at least be well-prepared for the sequel. Let’s get on with it.

Charlie is the Real Mastermind

There’s a persistent thread throughout the movie of the original Horsemen going trick-for-trick with the newbies, constantly showing themselves to have more wisdom and experience where it really counts. But the first major twist of the movie’s ending is that the Horsemen themselves have all been unwittingly playing a part in someone else’s game.

It’s Charlie who’s the real string-puller here. He set up everything from the very beginning. He forged the Tarot invitations from the Eye in order to get all the Horsemen back together and on board with the plan. He also set up the French chateau, getting Thaddeus involved, and lured Veronika to the final trick.

This was all in service of taking down Veronika’s inherited diamond empire, which funded a lot of the very worst people on Earth. But it was also revealed to be a deeply personal revenge mission, since Charlie wasn’t quite who he said he was.

Charlie Is Veronika’s Half-Brother

Earlier in the movie, we had received some backstory for Veronika during her “interrogation” of Merritt. Her mother had taken her own life after her father conceived a child during an affair with his housekeeper. As revenge, Veronika cut the brakes on the housekeeper’s car, resulting in her death and, presumably, the death of her son, who was also in the car.

Charlie was that kid, and he survived. He was bounced around the foster system from that point and eventually fell in with Bosco and June, with whom he began to devise his master plan. For that, though, he needed the help of the Horsemen.

In a classic magician’s trick, Charlie kept Veronika – and the audience! – looking at the right hand, so they missed what the left was doing. It isn’t until she comes face to face with Charlie – despite him being in several previous scenes where she could just as easily have spotted him – that she recognised her own half-brother. Of course, she also tried to shoot him, but Charlie had already anticipated that, as well as her confession, which turns out to be much more public than she imagined.

The Setup For Now You See Me 4

As mentioned at the top, the ending of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is clearly intended to set up the fourth movie, which has already been announced to be in development, with Ruben Fleischer returning as director. The final scenes are largely devoted to providing the outline, with Bosco, Charlie, and June all being officially accepted into the original Horsemen, of which there are now five, thanks to Lula’s return.

This message is delivered by none other than Mark Ruffalo’s Dylan, in a video message sent by the Eye. Apparently, he had been locked up in prison, supposedly for good, but you can’t keep a good magician down. This means we can expect to see Ruffalo in the sequel, further expanding what is already a swelling cast.

Hopefully, nobody realizes that Charlie’s revenge mission got their friend Thaddeus killed. That might make for an awkward conversation.