card sets continuously for 29 years, just shy of 30 decades! It's almost inevitable with that amount of popularity and that long of a life span, that a TV series or movie franchise would spawn.
Launching a series with potentially millions of fans is no easy feat. For a franchise that's been around as long as Magic: The Gathering, it is no surprise to fans that this latest run is not the first attempt to launch a TV series out of the popular game. As early as 2001 a miniseries was considered by Wizards of the Coast, but plans were scrapped in 2008 when a deal was struck with Universal for a Magic: The Gathering movie. Much to fans disappointment, this movie never happened either, and subsequent attempts to launch a big-screen franchise from the tabletop card game never led to any concrete products.
Producing Magic: The Gathering
The small-screen adaptation was originally announced by streaming giant Netflix back in 2019, and has already gone through one creative team in that short time period. The project was originally headed by the Russo brothers, think Marvel and Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, who apparently left early in the production cycle due to creative differences in how to adapt the trading card game. Shortly after their departure the lead writers also left the project.
However, in 2021 a new team was already in place and was working on an entirely new version of the series. Jeff Kline, who boasts credits from animated series like Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, so fans should rest assured that an amazing team is behind this project.
Finding The Story
Not a great deal is known about the plot so far, but we do know that the head of Magic: The Gathering, Mark Rosewater, has repeatedly stated that Wizards of the Coast don't want a TV series or movie with people from earth traveling to Magic's worlds.
From early reports, the series will follow the story of the popular Planeswalker, Gideon Jura, who will be "the heart of the story." The series will focus on Magic's most mysterious and unique magic-wielding heroes and villains, the Planeswalkers, as they contend and struggle with stakes larger than any one world can hold. The story will supposedly provide a brand new and "fresh jumping-on point." according to Daniel Ketchum, who is Wizards of the Coasts' principal designer of franchise development, and will focus on the relationships between its characters and the trials they might face. It's expected that other highly popular Planeswalker characters will also make an appearance, as these are some of the best cards that Magic has to offer, and often become the focus of players decks, so it would make sense for them to be the focus of the series.
Where It Fits In Canon
The animated series will be using characters from the card game and using cards from some of the best Magic: The Gathering card sets as inspiration for characters and settings. As far as reports suggest these will remain as true to the card game as possible and will be true to their preexisting spirit. However, the Magic: The Gathering series will not be canon, and will exist inside its own continuity space similar to how other franchises have done. The main reason for this is continuity, because there is so much material available for Magic: The Gathering that keeping a new entity up to date would be incredibly difficult and would constrain the storyline massively. It just makes sense to have it set in its own timeline so that the show runners have the freedom of choice.