The cards are back on the table.
Netflix is taking another shot at an animated series based on Magic: The Gathering, the hugely popular role-playing game. The streamer first picked up a series based on the game in 2019, with Joe and Anthony Russo as showrunners.
The Russo brothers later departed the series over creative differences, and Jeff Klein (Transformers: Prime) took the reins. Brandon Routh was set to play in one of the lead voice roles, but that iteration of the show eventually fell by the wayside. Routh said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival that the show is “apparently not happening”; while that’s true for the version he worked on, Netflix is now forging ahead with a new version.
The new series, which is set to start production soon, will be led by showrunner Terry Matalas (Star Trek: Picard, Disney+’s upcoming Vision). As with previous versions of the series, the show comes from Hasbro Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast, which developed and released the game.
Other details on Magic: The Gathering are scant at the moment. The Russo and Klein versions of the show were to focus on the game’s Planeswalkers characters as well as introducing new ones.
In addition to Picard, for which he earned a Writers Guild of America Award nomination this year, Matalas’ credits as a writer and producer include The CW’s Nikita, CBS’ 2010s MacGyver reboot and Syfy’s 12 Monkeys. He’s repped by CAA and Anonymous Content.
