(Credits: Far Out / Manfred Werner / Tsui)
Fri 28 November 2025 11:30, UK
In his many, many, many years in the acting game, Michael Caine has done just about everything there is to do in Hollywood. From gritty gangster flicks to Oscar-nominated dramas to singing with The Muppets, the British icon has left a footprint larger than just about anyone.
He’s taken his fair share of easy paydays too, cropping up in franchises that are far beneath his talents. Lest we forget his contributions to ‘Kingsman’, ‘Jaws’, and Gnomeo & Juliet. In his later years, he kept the lights on with the ‘Now You See Me’ series. He plays Arthur Tressler, a shady millionaire who starts as the backer of a group of magicians before they turn on him. He reprised his role for the second instalment, but was noticeably absent from film number three, the tediously titled Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.
Caine announced his retirement from acting (for the second time) in 2023, after the release of The Great Escaper. However, with the help of his bestest buddy in the whole wide world, Vin Diesel, he got back in the saddle and will appear in the upcoming movie The Last Witch Hunter 2. This left Now You Don’t director Reuben Fleischer in a bit of a pickle when he was confronted by The Hollywood Reporter.
During an interview promoting the film, Fleischer was asked why Caine wasn’t part of the sequel despite being back to work. “I think that was only revealed after we were done shooting,” Fleischer insisted. “But if we’re lucky enough to make another Now You See Me, we will definitely give him a call.”
The new movie, which revisits the world of stage magicians using their tricks to complete daring heists, was released in 2025. The main selling point was the introduction of a new group of cunning conjurors teaming up with the old ‘Four Horsemen’, the main protagonists of the series. Having skipped the second movie, Isla Fisher reprised her role from the first film, while Morgan Freeman, who is only a few years younger than Caine, turns up for the third time. It sounds like there was plenty of room for ol’ Mickey if someone had been bothered to pick up the phone.
As Fleischer alluded to, there are tentative plans for a fourth film in the series. Despite being broadly terrible, people seem to really like these movies. The series has grossed over $700 million worldwide, with that figure only set to increase. There’s also been talk of a spin-off centring around Jay Chou’s character from Now You See Me 2, but there hasn’t been an update on that for a while. All of this is to say that the franchise is thriving and showing no signs of going away any time soon. It sounds like they’ll be plenty of opportunities for Caine to make a comeback.
The legendary actor turned 92 years old in 2025. While I fully expect him to still be here when the sun goes out, Fleischer and his team might want to pick up the pace filming his scenes for the next movie. If he isn’t around, they could always get AI to mimic his voice. That really would be the darkest timeline.
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