Netflix had announced the ambitious “first-of-its-kind” animated series project with Wizards of the Coast back in June 2019, with the premiere rumoured to arrive in 2022. The series titled Magic: The Gathering was set to be directed by the Russo brothers, Joe and Anthony, popular for their work on Avengers: Endgame.
However, the siblings have removed themselves from the project quite recently, stating unbridgeable creative differences. The decision also saw head writers Jose Molina and Henry Gilroy leave the production. While creative differences is a problem prevalent in Netflix, we can only hope that the new director, Jeff Kline, known for Transformers: Prime, will not be facing the same issue.
He is joined by a close-knit team comprising story editor and co-executive producer, Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Steve Melching, Audu Paden as supervising director, Izzy Medrano as art director and Dan Frey, Nicole Dubuc, Taneka Stotts and Russell Sommer as the writers.
According to Netflix’s official description, the show will revolve around the escapades and adventures of the Planeswalkers who are the “unique magic-wielding heroes and villains” who shall engage in intense conflict “with stakes larger than any one world can hold”.
A tie-in prequel novel by Django Wexler will also be released sometime in 2022.
Besides this massive production team, Variety has reported that the series has cast the DC Universe veteran, Superman Returns and Legends of Tomorrow alum Brandon Routh in the lead role of Gideon Jura.
The President of Wizards of the Coast, Chris Cocks revealed that “more fans are enjoying Magic now than at any time in its 25-year history thanks to the enduring popularity of the tabletop game and our latest release War of the Spark”.
He also attributed the growing interest to the “incredible success of [our] new digital game, Magic: The Gathering Arena”.
According to the head of Netflix Anime programming John Derderian, the show will surely be a success among fans as “Magic is a beloved global franchise with a massively engaged fan base that has only continued to grow over the last 25 years”.