Following up their success as directors onAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame, the Russo brothers are immersing themselves in their new chosen roles as executive producers. No less than five projects, includingThe Warriors,Quantum and Woody, andRelic, are already moving forward with the Russo brothers as executive producers. Today a new project from the pair was announced - a foray into the world of games - as the Russos announced aMagic: The Gatheringanimated TV show made for Netflix.
The Russos have said that they’re “huge fans” ofMagic: Gatheringand describe their partnership with bothMagiccreators Wizards of the Coast and Netflix as a passion project come to life. The card game has a 25-year-old legacy and the Netflix cartoon will build upon its lore in an all-new storyline, while featuring many of the heroes and villains that players like the Russos know well.
Animation for theMagic: The Gatheringproject is going to be handled by Bardel Entertainment, known forTeen Titans Go,Rick & Morty,HarmonQuest, and Netflix’sThe Dragon Prince. Writing will come from Henry Gilroy, ofStar Wars RebelsandStar Wars: The Clone Warsfame, and Jose Molina (The TickandAgent Carter). And the project’s supervising director will be Yoriaki Mochizuki, story artist on the recentLegomovies andSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Accompanying the announcement was a single teaser image, a glimpse at what the final show’s animation style may look like. It’s clearly a style of 3D animation, rather than 2D, with a lean towards realism over an exaggerated, cartoonish look. The character isn’t immediately familiar, though their flaming head could draw comparisons to the humanPlaneswalkerChandra Nalaar.
Much remains to be shown from theMagic: The Gatheringadaptation, but it’s an exciting announcement nonetheless.Magic: The Gatheringis a popular, though niche, card game and video game franchise with lots of potential. To see it break out of that niche with a major Netflix show is an interesting possibility.
Of course, that’s still a long way off. It may be some time yet before more is shared onMagic: The Gatheringas development begins. That inevitable first trailer is bound to be highly anticipated, though.
Magic: The Gatheringis coming to Netflix but has no currently announced release window.
