Magic: The Gathering is getting the film and TV adaptation treatment courtesy of Hasbro and Legendary Entertainment.
Magic: The Gathering is getting a rather expansive adaptation that will span a live action film and a ‘television universe’. Even if you’ve never built your own deck before, you’ve likely heard of the collectible card game. It’s a phenomenon, having generated over a billion (yes, that’s a ‘b’) dollars in 2023 alone.
As such, Hasbro and Legendary plan to capitalise on the clear interest in Magic: The Gathering, adapting the game into a series of projects.
The report at Deadline states that the film will come first, followed by a range of television projects and more ‘content’ (nothing gets us more excited than the promise of ‘content’) to come.
Beyond collecting cards, building a deck and then employing strategies and skill to beat your opponent, Magic: The Gathering does have a story of sorts: a fantasy affair in which players assume the role of spellcasters who can summon creatures to beat their enemies. (A little bit like Chaos on the ZX Spectrum if you’re a thousand years old like us – Ed.)
Magic: The Gathering certainly possesses a significant fanbase who will likely support the project, and its fantasy setting also has a potentially broad appeal. Paramount’s big budget revival of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves in 2023 showed that studios understand that there’s an appetite for the kind of fantasy films that may have once been relegated to lower budget productions and are willing to finance such projects.
The project isn’t connected to the upcoming Netflix animated show in any way. That adaptation of Magic: The Gathering is currently in production although we have no idea when it’s set to release. Still, the protracted development time that surely lies ahead for both projects means you have plenty of time to buy a second-hand deck on eBay and learn a few skills.
