Netflix & Russo Brothers Are Turning Magic: The Gathering Into an Animated Series
Netflix has just announced a Magic: The Gathering animated series from executive producers Joe & Anthony Russo, who will partner with both Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast to bring the iconic card game to life in a totally new way, according to Deadline.
The showrunners will be Henry Gilroy (Star Wars Rebels) and Jose Molina (The Tick), who will also write the series, with animation by Octopie Network (Paranormal Action Squad) and Bardel Studio (The Dragon Prince, Teen Titans Go!).
First of all, what a great time to be a fan of Magic. I mean, the series has been fun for me as a player over the past couple of months, but there are just so many fun cards, stories, and characters coming from WotC that, despite the issues they’ve had, I feel like they’re doing their best to keep creating engaging content. Ever since the War of the Spark trailer, I’ve been wishing that they would do more animated works, and it seems like that wish has come true.
More Liliana Vess and the other Planeswalkers in their animated forms is not a problem for me at all.
John Derderian, head of anime programming for Netflix, said the following about the series: “Magic is a beloved global franchise with a massively engaged fan base that has only continued to grow over the last 25 years. There’s no one better suited to bring this story to audiences around the world than Joe and Anthony Russo, whose talent for genre storytelling is unmatched, as is demonstrated by their central role in creating some of the biggest box office hits of all time.”
According to the reporting, Netflix is saying that the Brothers Russo “will oversee the creation of an all new storyline and expand on the stories of the Planeswalkers, the magic-wielding heroes, and villains who dominate Magic’s tabletop realms of imagination.”
The goal is to not only to tell a story “leveraging Magic: The Gathering’s incredible body of work,” but to “push the medium and perception of storytelling through animation.”
They’re promising that the series will cross the genres of “suspenseful thriller, horror, and drama with deeply developed characters the likes of which are not often seen in animation.” Alright y’all, no need to hype it up too much. Still, considering the vast amount of characters, locations, and stories that have come about throughout Magic‘s 25+ year history, there is plenty of material to mine in the creation of an engaging and fun collection of stories. Plus, after Castlevania, I have a lot of hope for Netflix taking over another game property.
“We have been huge fans and players of Magic: The Gathering for as long as it has been around, so being able to help bring these stories to life through animation is a true passion project for us,” the Russos said in a joint statement about their involvement in the project.
Considering they just helped bring together Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame and some of the best installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Russos seem like a solid choice to helm the series. I hope that they’ll bring in some diverse writers, as well. Considering that Magic has a vast non-white/male/cis fanbase, it’d be good to have that reflected in the writing room, especially considering that some of the Planes that exist in the game are a little … let’s just say “orientalist”. Still, I’m super excited about this, and I hope that we will be given a series that brings to life the best Magic has to offer.
Readers, which storylines and characters are you most looking forward to seeing? I personally want to see how they bring the Eldrazi Titans to life.
(via Deadline, image: Wizards of the Coast)
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