Beloved card game Magic: The Gathering is getting the "universe" treatment, for better or worse.
Hasbro announced via press release that it's teaming up with Legendary Entertainment to create not only a Magic: The Gathering live-action feature film, but also a "television universe" and, eventually, "other content."
As a writer primarily focused on video games, I'm all too familiar with Hollywood production companies taking a popular game and expanding it into movies and TV, often using the term "universe" to mean multimedia franchise.
"This is an exciting and complementary partnership, uniting one of the world’s most iconic brands with a powerful and proven steward. 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," said Hasbro head of film Zev Foreman.
As far as timing, no specific release windows have been revealed, but according to the press release, the plan is to kick off the new Magic: The Gathering universe with the live-action movie and then follow that up with the TV show and potentially other crossovers, presumably depending on the success of the first adaptations.
No cast, writing, or directorial deets have been revealed.
There have been several attempts to adapt Magic: The Gathering for film, including at Universal, Fox, and Netflix, going back more than a decade, but nothing's materialized so far. Hopefully Legendary has the magic touch to make something finally materialize.
Who knows? Maybe Magic: The Gathering will one day join the ranks of the best video game movies ever. Until then, peruse our guide to all of the upcoming movies you should have on your radar.
