During Netflix’s Geeked Week celebration, fans of the classic fantasy card-playing game, Magic: The Gathering, caught a first glimpse of the new animated series based on the property. Still with its working title, Magic: The Gathering comes to the platform as a collaboration between Hasbro Entertainment, Wizards of the Coast, and Oscar-winning director, Patrick Osbrone (Imaginary Mary, Feast) as supervising director and executive producer.
Anchored by showrunner and EP Terry Matalas (Star Trek: Picard), the event animated series will bring the tabletop game to life after more than 30 years.
“It has been an absolute dream collaboration with NETFLIX, HASBRO ENTERTAINMENT, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, and the brilliant Patrick Osborne to bring the many worlds of MAGIC: THE GATHERING to streaming. Those new to this sprawling saga will learn what millions of fans who play every day already know. MAGIC is the ultimate storytelling sandbox, brimming with iconic, complex characters, extraordinary mind-bending powers, and portals to every genre imaginable. It is also a powerful reminder that no matter what culture, country, or plane of existence you come from, we can all unite and become heroes together,” Matalas said in a statement via the official press release.
Popularly known as Magic or MTG, the card game was released in 1993 and features a deck of assorted cards representing different spells, creatures, and incantations in a mystical world. Played between two or more, combatants attempt to reduce their opponent’s life force to zero, drawing cards from the deck and strategically placing them into play. As of February 2023, more than 50 million players participate in the trading card game, which now features online battles with digital cards.
This news comes only a month after Dungeons and Dragons announced collaboration with Magic: The Gathering to celebrate D&D’s 50th anniversary. During a D&D Direct livesteam on the morning of Tuesday, August 27th, Wizards of the Coast revealed new Secret Lair card sets featuring characters from Larion Studio’s Baldur’s Gate 3. At July’s Summer Game Fest, a new Universes Beyond card set was revealed featuring characters from the popular Ubisoft game, Assassin’s Creed. In May, the card game announced year-long collaboration with Hatsune Miku for Secret Lair cards. The partnership is set to produce for drops this year, each card set representing a different season.
Still early in production, the series does not have a release date.