Netflix has revived its animated Magic: The Gathering series, so here’s everything we know about the show.
Streaming giant Netflix initially announced plans to produce an MTG series with Wizards of the Coast in 2019. At the time, Joe and Anthony Russo of MCU fame were attached to lead the CG-animated show’s creative crew.
The Russo Brothers exited the project in 2021, leaving Netflix to appoint Transformers: Prime producer Jeff Kline as the new EP. Since then, the streamer has maintained a long silence about the MTG show’s progress. Said silence has reached an end.
During Geeked Week 2024, Magic: The Gathering’s animated adaptation re-entered the spotlight for the first time in years.
Who’s behind Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering series?
So far, Netflix has yet to share a trailer for the new MTG series, though the key art featured above provides hints about the tone.
Netflix‘s press release notably lacks concrete details about the overall creative vision, too. However, it at least details who will serve as the driving force this time around.
Neither the Russos nor Jeff Kline are attached, with the production instead following a “new creative direction” from EP and showrunner Terry Matalas, who’s best known for executive producing 12 Monkeys and Star Trek: Picard.
Patrick Osborne, who won an Oscar for the short film Feast, will act as supervising director and executive producer.
Does the MTG series have a release date?
At the time of writing, Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering does not have a release date or even a launch window.
The press release shared during Geeked Week 2024 merely notes that production is currently underway. How long this version of the project has been in development remains unclear.
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What will the MTG show’s story focus on?
Story-related details haven’t been revealed, yet the official announcement from Netflix did reference the “Pyromancer’s Goggles” in a clear nod to Chandra, a formidable Planeswalker with the power to conjure fire.
While this could represent little more than a throwaway line, the teaser image depicting what appears to be a woman with an open flame in her palm suggests otherwise.
Plus, it’s worth noting that Joe Russo told an SDCC 2019 audience to “get excited” if they loved Jace and Chandra, leading many at the time to believe these would constitute the show’s central figures.
The Russo Brothers are no longer involved with Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering production, so it’s unknown how much – if any – of those initial ideas remain in place.
What happened with Netflix’s original MTG plans?
After Joe and Anthony Russo left the project over creative differences, Netflix tapped Transformer: Prime’s Jeff Kline to oversee the development of a new storyline.
Superman Returns and Legends of Tomorrow star Brandon Routh was announced as lead in the days following the Kline news. He’d been specifically hired to voice Gideon, indicating Jace and Chandra were no longer main characters.
Oddly enough, in a September 2024 interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, Routh told Collider that as far as he knew, the show was no longer happening.
Details about Jeff Kline’s now-shelved version of Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering remain under lock and key. And it seems Brandon Routh is no longer involved, either.
We’ll be sure to keep this post updated as additional information surfaces. For more on MTG, check out the new Duskmourn card reveal for the House of Horrors set.
