Netflix revealed a number of anticapted first looks during its Geeked Week announcements, and there is one project in particular that many had given up ever seeing make it to the small screen. That would be Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering, which has had a rather turbulent journey since being first announced in 2019, but today Netflix has finally revealed the first look at the series. While there’s only one image to analyze at the moment, it does signal that the show is nearing the finish line, and that’s wonderful news for the many fans of the franchise.
The teaser image doesn’t show much, but it does indicate who will likely be at the center of the show. When the series was first announced, the show was slated to feature Chandra Nalaar and Jace Beleren as its principal leads. That might have changed though, as while the teaser image still features Chandra, it’s not Jace by her side. Instead, it’s Ajani Goldmane, and though Jace could still be a part of the show, he might not be one of the main focal points any longer.
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A Long Road
The series was first announced back in June of 2019, and at the time The Russo Brothers were on board as Executive Producers. Then the series made another big announcement with the casting of Brandon Routh as Gideon Jura, who was also set to play a big role in the series. Along the way, things were pretty quiet on the details front, but that changed in 2021 when The Russos departed the project.
The series was still moving forward, however, and Netflix and Wizards of the Coast thanked the duo for their contributions in a joint statement. “While the Russo Brothers are no longer part of the animated series, their passion for the game combined with their early creative perspective and input helped us to shape the project to a place where we believe fans of the game and those new to the ‘Gathering Universe’ will enjoy the series and discover what millions of fans around the globe have known for the past 25 years.”
Taking over the project was Transformers: Prime’s Jeff Kline, who said, “I’m grateful to the Russos for bringing me into the world of Magic: the Gathering – specifically, over dinner at one of their go-to Cleveland restaurants. Magic is one of those rare intellectual properties with such a wellspring of mythology that ‘picking and choosing’ is half the battle. Every single person working on the series understands how beloved this universe is – and feels both the exhilaration and tremendous pressure that comes with translating Magic across mediums.”
Later still Brandon Routh would say the series was not happening and had been canceled, and no other details or updates were given on the series until today. Now the series seems very much alive and well, and hopefully, it won’t be another few years before we see the show finally release.
Now, we know Terry Matalas is taking over work on Magic: The Gathering. The executive is best known for their work on Star Trek: Piccard, and Matalas will be leading his team into production shortly. As for the story Magic: The Gathering, well – this TV series has yet to spill any details. We know the Russo Brothers were eager to explore the Planeswalker in their adaptation, but that iteration of the animated series has been scrapped. Hopefully, Netflix and Hasbro will give the fandom an update with Wizards of the Coast before too long. After all, the fandom is feeling more hyped than ever now that Netflix has locked in this ambitious series.
Are you excited or Netflix’s Magic The Gathering? You can talk all things streaming, TV, and gaming with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
