An animated Magic: The Gathering show is indeed still happening at Netflix, with a new series showrunner preparing to bring the long-shelved fantasy epic to the small screen. He’s already got grand plans too, selling the surprise revival as a “sprawling saga.”
This surprise MTG news was confirmed by Netflix today, just days after widespread speculation the television series had actually been canned. Originally teed up by Wizards of the Coast and Netflix back in 2019, the speculative show plan spent three years under Anthony and Joseph Russo—who helmed several Avengers movies—before seeing to simply disappear. Terry Matalas has now been tasked with reviving the ambitious project in its entirety.
The newly-crowned showrunner hinted the MTG story would be both expansive and, crucially, tied to the franchise’s iconic planes. “Magic’s the ultimate storytelling sandbox, brimming with iconic, complex characters, extraordinary mind-bending powers, and portals to every genre. It’s also a powerful reminder that no matter what culture, country, or plane of existence you come from, we can all unite and become heroes.”
There’s been very little spilled in the way of a show plot yet, though Dot Esports imagines some of the more popular planeswalkers like Jace Beleren, Nissa Revane, Gideon Jura, and my personal favorite Chandra Nalaar should all feature. Easy villains for the upcoming animated saga would be Nicol Bolas or the plane-consuming Eldrazi titans.
Wizards and Netflix may also forego Magic‘s modernity and tell Urza and Mishra’s vintage story through the vintage Brothers War, though that’s a little more unlikely.
Show lead Matalas has previously worked on franchise series like Star Trek: Picard (though only its later seasons) and the 12 Monkeys television adapation. Oscar winner Patrick Osborne, who won the illustrious gong in 2014 for animated comedy Feast, has also come onboard as supervising director and executive producer.
Brandon Routh was originally attached to lead the Magic series in 2021, likely as Gideon, though he recently said he believed the show was “not happening” anymore.
This suggestions Netflix is going with a clean slate for the ambitious animated project, especially considering Matalas and Osborne will have their own plans for the show. Which studio will animate the series has not yet been announced (or even, Dot understands, officially locked in yet).
Considering League of Legends adaptation Arcane‘s huge success, this September revival is far from surprising; it was more of a shock that Netflix had seemingly walked away when all that humdrum bubbled up last week. The streaming giant has enjoyed other animated triumphs like Blue Eye Samurai, anthology series Love, Death, and Robots, and the ongoing Castlevania franchise recently too and has made it clear it wants more animated hits.
The Magic show now joins several big game adaptations like Tomb Raider and Gears of War in the chamber at Netflix Animation. Far Cry and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell are also reportedly in the works though they’re less far along work-wise.
Other animation on the way includes a Redwall series based on Martin the Warrior.
