Avengers: Endgame directors will create Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering series

By Rick Marshall June 3, 2019

Planeswalkers, Netflix has some big news for you.

Avengers: Endgame filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo will oversee the creation of a Magic: The Gathering animated series for the streaming service, set within the mythology of the popular collectible card game.

The announcement was made by Netflix and accompanied by a promotional image for the project.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“We have been huge fans and players of Magic: The Gathering for as long as it has been around, so being able to help bring these stories to life through animation is a true passion project for us,” the Russos said in a statement.

Although specific details regarding the series are scarce at this point, the show will have the Endgame filmmakers “oversee the creation of an all new storyline and expand on the stories of the Planeswalkers” and have characters “contend with stakes larger than any one world can hold.” The Russos will serve as executive producers on the series, partnering with Magic rightsholders Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro to develop the project.

Joining the Russos behind the camera will be Star Wars Rebels and Clone Wars writer Henry Gilroy and The Tick writer Jose Molina, who will serve as showrunners. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse story artist Yoriaki Mochizuki will be the series’ supervising director and co-executive producer.

First released in 1993, Magic: The Gathering was created by Richard Garfield and has players compete against each other using decks of cards that represent various magic spells, artifacts, creatures, or other elements wielded by the wizards known as Planeswalkers. Each Planeswalker attempts to drain the life points from his competitor using a deck of cards assembled from either from the player’s collection or a pre-arranged mix of cards.

“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,” Chris Cocks, president of Wizards of the Coast, said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Joe and Anthony Russo to bring Magic: The Gathering’s rich and diverse cast of characters and worlds to Netflix in a way that will delight our many fans and those new to the franchise.”

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Entertainment

3 sci-fi movies on Peacock you need to watch in October

Jeff Goldblum in The Fly transforming into a human-fly hybrid creature.

The month of October isn’t just about cramming as many horror movies as you can into your days and nights. There are other genres that are just as fitting, from psychological thrillers to intense dramas, and even sci-fi. Some of the best sci-fi movies, in fact, teeter the line between sci-fi and horror, quenching your need for creepy content.

There are three sci-fi movies on Peacock this month that you need to watch in October. All are new to the streaming service, and they hail from two of the best decades for the genre: the '80s and '90s. Travel back in time with a Jeff Goldblum classic, feast your eyes on the story of a killer car, or revisit high school life with teenage witches brewing something bad.

Entertainment

The most underrated horror sequel of this century is finally streaming again on Max

A group of people gather in Doctor Sleep.

In terms of traumatic childhoods, few movie characters have ever had it as bad as Danny Torrance. The young psychic child at the center of The Shining is not only relentlessly preyed upon one winter by the malevolent ghosts of a haunted hotel, but he and his mother are also nearly killed by his ax-wielding father. He experiences so many unimaginable horrors over the span of just a few months that one can't help but feel both relief and concern for him when The Shining ends.

Danny's traumatic time at the Overlook Hotel fittingly haunts writer-director Mike Flanagan's Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep. Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the film attempts to bring the story of Dan Torrance (played as an adult by Ewan McGregor) to a close. In doing so, it ends up telling a very different tale than its revered predecessor. If The Shining is about the dangers of alcoholism and male rage, then Doctor Sleep is about how children survive abuse in a world that seems intent on tamping them down and stealing their "shine."

Entertainment

Hoopla offers a library of Joker and Harley Quinn comics timed to Folie à Deux

Joker sits at a table while Harley Quin sits behind him.

One of the most anticipated releases of the fall, Joker: Folie à Deux, is being met with a somewhat cooler reception than the first film. If you're looking for great content about Joker and Harley Quinn, though, the movie theater is not the only place you can find it.

Timed to the movie's release, Hoopla, an online reading service that partners with local libraries, has announced that they have a collection of comics and other media related to the superhero spinoff. In fact, they have an entire Joker collection that features Joker and Harley Quinn comics, as well as the soundtracks to both films and Harlequin, Lady Gaga's new album, which was released to tie in with the film. The collection also includes Hoopla's exclusive collection of DC Manga, including Joker: One Operation Joker. In total, the collection includes more than 50 comic books and albums to explore.