Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Film & TV Universe In Works From Legendary Entertainment, Hasbro Entertainment
Legendary Entertainment and Hasbro Entertainment are teaming to create a live-action film and television universe based on Magic: The Gathering, the trading card game marking Hasbro’s first $1 billion brand.
The first project to emerge from the deal will be a film, with TV series and other content to be developed as well as the universe expands.
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Created in 1993, Magic: The Gathering is recognized as the world’s first trading card game, having connected with more than 50 million fans of all ages worldwide. In the game, players take on the role of planeswalkers, powerful spellcasters who summon creatures, cast spells, and use artifacts to defeat their opponents. The game is known for its deep strategy, complex mechanics, and the ability to customize decks from a vast library of thousands of unique cards.
Since its release, Magic: The Gathering has expanded into a global phenomenon, with competitive tournaments, professional play circuits, and a thriving secondary market for rare and powerful cards. The game’s ongoing storyline, set in a multiverse of fantasy worlds, is explored through its card sets, novels, and even crossover collaborations with franchises like Dungeons & Dragons and Lord of the Rings.
In a statement accompanying the Magic development announcement, Legendary’s Chairman of Worldwide Production, Mary Parent, said: “We pride ourselves on being thoughtful caretakers of singular, beloved IP, and no property better fits that description than MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Alongside the fantastic Hasbro team, we look forward to creating a multimedia universe that thrills longstanding fans and creates a broad wave of new ones.”
Said Zev Foreman, Hasbro Entertainment’s Head of Film, “This is an exciting and complementary partnership, uniting one of the world’s most iconic brands with a powerful and proven steward. MAGIC: THE GATHERING has inspired decades of epic world-building and creative storytelling. It is a perfect match for Legendary’s diversified approach to marquee IP, and we are excited to work together to build a whole new MAGIC: THE GATHERING universe.”
Along with films based on original IP, Legendary has a successful track record for adaptations, including leading video game franchises. Recent titles include Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films and the Monsterverse films, as well as Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and the Enola Holmes franchise. Upcoming projects include A Minecraft Movie, based on the world’s bestselling game of all time; the live action-animation hybrid comedy Animal Friends; a film adaptation of the video game Street Fighter; Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s untitled film starring Tom Cruise; and additional event films from Villeneuve and the studio’s Monsterverse franchise.
Since its launch in 2023, Hasbro Entertainment has looked to cultivate a slate drawing on its iconic brands, as with the game Clue, which it’s looking to develop for film and TV with Sony. The company also has a deal with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap and Lionsgate to produce a film based on Monopoly, a deal with The CW to produce game shows based on Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble, which premiered this past fall, and a Magic: The Gathering animated series from showrunner Terry Matalas, which is now in production at Netflix.
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