Netflix has announced the animated original series titled ‘Magic: The Gathering’ from the Russo Brothers, the directors of ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ ‘Magic: The Gathering’ marks the first screen adaptation of the popular trading-card game ‘Magic.’ According to Deadline, Joe & Anthony Russo joins Hasbro, the leading toy manufacturer, and Wizards of the Coast, the Seattle based firm which owns both ‘Magic’ card game and ‘Dungeons & Dragons.’ Hasbro owns Wizards of the West and its popular games since 1999.
Henry Gilroy, who is known for ‘Star Wars Rebels‘ and Jose Molina, who is known for ‘The Tick,’ will be the showrunners. Octopie Network and Bardel Studio handle the animation works for ‘Magic: The Gathering.’ According to Netflix, the Russo Brothers will oversee the development of new storylines and expand them into full-length plots for the series. The central characters of the series are known as ‘the Planeswalkers,’ who are the magic-wielding heroes and villains who dominate Magic’s tabletop universe.
The Russo Brothers will also serve as executive producers while Henry Gilroy and Jose Molina will write the screenplay and co-executive produce along with the Russos. Yoriaki Mochizuki will be the supervising director and co-executive producer. The series is being produced by Todd Makurath, Eric Calderon, and Dave Newberg. Mike Larocca and Isaac Krauss will also serve as executive producers.
“Magic is a beloved global franchise with a massively engaged fan base that has only continued to grow over the last 25 years,” John Derderian, head of Anime programming for Netflix, is quoted as saying by The Wrap. “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.”
“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,” Russo brothers is quoted in the report.
“Our goal is to not only tell a compelling story leveraging Magic: The Gathering’s incredible body of work but to also push the medium and perception of storytelling through animation,” said Isaac Krauss, CEO of Octopie. “This 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.”
The card game enjoys a huge fan base with its vast IP universe which is full of magic, magicians, surreal places, and magical things. It has established as unique IP folklore for the last 25 years, which makes it a sure bet in the eyes of Netflix. With the Russos on board, ‘Magic: The Gathering’ is one of the most interesting projects of the streaming giant.
Cover Image Courtesy: Wizards of the Coast
