The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, Jay Chou, Sanaa Lathan, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman.

The plot has the Four Horsemen and their leader Dylan Rhodes recruited by Walter Mabry, a criminal mastermind, to steal a data chip.

Eighteen months after escaping the FBI, the fugitive Four Horsemen – J. Daniel Atlas, Merritt McKinney, Jack Wilder, and new member Lula May – await orders from the Eye, the secret society of magicians.

Posing as potential buyers, they infiltrate the Macau Science Center, using cardistry and sleight of hand to sneak the chip past its supervisor, Allen Scott-Frank.

Once in the air, they are forced to hand over the fake chip, which Walter confirms is real, and his henchmen throw Dylan and the Horsemen out of the plane, supposedly to their deaths.

Walter, Arthur, and Chase's misdeeds are broadcast to the crowd and around the world, and they are taken into FBI custody as Dylan and the Horsemen escape before they can be apprehended.

[6] In September 2014, it was confirmed that Jon M. Chu would replace Louis Leterrier (who eventually serves as executive producer) as the sequel's director.

[14][15] On October 2, 2014, Michael Caine confirmed in an interview that Daniel Radcliffe would be playing his son in the film and that shooting is expected to begin in December in London.

[16] In October 2014, it was announced that Isla Fisher would be unable to reprise her role as Henley Reeves due to her pregnancy and Lizzy Caplan was cast as new character Lula to replace her as the Fourth Horseman.

In addition, Taiwanese rap group "urchin MJ116" and rapper MC HotDog's song "Fresh Gang" also played in the film's Macau segment.

[32] Although critics and fans were disappointed that Isla Fisher was not returning as Henley Reeves, many praised Lizzy Caplan's addition to the cast.

Caplan was described as "one of the sequel's biggest improvements" by Entertainment Weekly,[33] while Dave White of TheWrap wrote that she "provides a fresh infusion of smart-ass energy into the boy's club.

"[34] Australian film magazine Filmink also noted that Caplan "over-shadows her skilled co-stars with her sassy and commanding screen presence.

"[35] Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that "all bearded creepy grins, [Daniel Radcliffe] makes Walter a megalomaniac imp, like the world's youngest Bond villain.

"[36] Randy Cordova of The Arizona Republic, who preferred the film to the original, said of the villain character that "In [Radcliffe's] hands, he is a spoiled and petulant baddie, alternately creepy and hilarious.

If [director Jon M.] Chu doesn't seem comfortable with the swooping, lens-flare-speckled flashiness that director Louis Leterrier brought to the first film, he seems even less interested than his predecessor in creating the impression of a recognizably real world — which is a good thing, at least for a movie about a superstar heist crew called the Horsemen that involves twins, multiple secret identities, and a global corporate surveillance plot that can only be foiled through the use of stage magic.

[48] On April 16, it was announced that Ariana Greenblatt, Dominic Sessa, and Justice Smith had been cast in the film, alongside the returning Eisenberg, Harrelson, Franco, Caplan, Fisher, and Ruffalo.