The daddy of the collectable card game, ‘Magic: The Gathering’, could be making its way to the screen in live-action as it’s announced Legendary Entertainment and Hasbro Entertainment have teamed up to develop a “Cinematic Universe”.
If you’re not aware of Magic: The Gathering, created by Richard Garfield and published by Wizards of the Coast, it was first released in 1993 and is seen as the father of the collectable trading card game. Players, known as planeswalkers, build decks and use spells, creatures, and artefacts to defeat opponents by reducing their life total to zero. The game features five colours of mana – White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green – each representing different playstyles. With numerous formats like Standard, Modern, and Commander, MTG offers both casual and competitive play. Its deep lore spans multiple planes of existence, featuring iconic characters and evolving storylines. MTG has remained a cornerstone of tabletop gaming for over 30 years, with a thriving esports scene and digital adaptations like MTG Arena.
Now, Legendary Entertainment, and Wizards of the Coast parent company, Hasbro Entertainment, have teamed up to create a new live-action “Cinematic Universe” (the MTGCU maybe?), beginning with a film, which could then be expanded out into TV series and other content.
“We pride ourselves on being thoughtful caretakers of singular, beloved IP, and no property better fits that description than Magic: The Gathering,” said Mary Parent, Legendary’s Chairman of Worldwide Production. “Alongside the fantastic Hasbro team, we look forward to creating a multimedia universe that thrills longstanding fans and creates a broad wave of new ones.”
Legendary Entertainment are the people behind TV and film such as ‘The Expanse’, ‘Carnival Row’, ‘Lost in Space’, the ‘Monsterverse’ franchise, the ‘Dune’ franchise, and the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise.
“This is an exciting and complementary partnership, uniting one of the world’s most iconic brands with a powerful and proven steward,” adds Zev Foreman, Hasbro Entertainment’s Head of Film. “Magic: The Gathering has inspired decades of epic world-building and creative storytelling. It is a perfect match for Legendary’s diversified approach to marquee IP, and we are excited to work together to build a whole new Magic: The Gathering universe.”
In addition to this new live-action project, there is also an animated series, which was announced way back in 2019, in the works at Netflix, which the streaming service has confirmed is still alive and in development.
There is currently no further info on the ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Cinematic Universe, but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
