That's right, the intricate world of beasts, planes walkers, and Gods is finally coming to life. Netflix has picked up the rights to do an animated TV show to put us into the universe of MTG. they have put an insane team together to accomplish this task as well. Let's look at what you need to know before it's expected release in 2021
Heavy Hitters- First thing fans will note about the upcoming show is the crew being put together to create the show. Produced by the Russo Brothers(Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame) As well as writers Henry Gilroy(Star wars animated series) and Jose Melina( The tick, Amazon series). With these heavy hitters starting out, this is shaping up to be a great sign.
History- Magic the Gathering has been around longer than a fair amount of the people who play it. Launching in 1993 it has grown to become a world wide phenomena, and some of it's early cards are worth so much they can nearly buy you a small family home. with such a long history, the fans are rabid. They know what they want, and hopefully Netflix will do them Justice.
From the sounds of it, that is the plan. The Russos said that adapting Magic: The Gathering is a “true passion project” because they are life-long Magic fans. Their adoration for the card game and its lore seems to be shared by everyone working on the show, ensuring fans that the upcoming series will be a loyal and respectful adaptation.
The Animation Team- The tricky part, and one of the up in the air parts of the series is what will be the animated style. Fans are used to the high quality card set release trailers showing triple A graphics. The team behind the animation however, have varying styles. The team consists of individuals who have worked on fan favorite shows who will also be working in depth with Wizards of the Coast(MTG Distributor)
The team is built of great animators. Some of whom have worked on projects like Rick and Morty, Transformers: prime, GI Joe Animated, and The Simpsons. Yoriaki Mochizuki (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) will serve as the supervising director. This team, once again has varying art styles so it will be very interesting to see if they go with a Rick and Morty 2.5d style, or the triple A graphics that fans are accustomed to.
The Story so Far- While many of the details are staying under wraps regarding the story lines, one thing was made clear. The show will focus on the Planes Walkers, who are the multi colored heroes and villains of the universe. The Magic The Gathering Universe is filled to the brim with content. Different planes of existence ranging from watery worlds to planes full of alien like beings. There are also Gods, tons of monsters, and artifacts of great power.
Last year the head of story and entertainment for Wizards of the Coast said in an interview.
“So what we plan to do is, the story and the characters are going to be true to the spirit of the story and the characters that are preexisting,” Kelman said. "We’re going to be true to that and the world and also true to the core values of those worlds and characters. But we’re definitely going to try to carve out our own continuity space in a very similar way to other franchises that have done that with adventures in a new medium from preexisting stories.”
Slightly vague, but there have been some cannon material released in book form that may give us a glimpse into what is to come. However, I found the recent books that go along with the War of the Spark narrative to be a little surprising and not what i expected. The Planes walkers, who are seen in the card game to be these powerful magic wielding beings are written as young adults or teens in the novel. Maybe it was me, but i did not see that coming at all.
So, There is a lot to like about the upcoming prospect. Netflix has a handle on things and it truly seems like they are doing right by the fans. As we have seen with recent movies, fans can have a real impact when they do not like something. Hell, they had to redesign the entire Sonic: the Hedgehog movie thanks to fan outrage. MTG fans will have that same fervor and have been waiting a long time for this. We will have to wait and see what happens until at the earliest late 2020.