Netflix announced that Anthony and Joe Russo will be at the helm of an animated Magic: The Gathering series. So… is this something we really need?
Magic: The Gathering has been around for over 25 years, and it was just announced that fans will be getting an animated series on Netflix.
What might be the most surprising part of this announcement is the insane amount of creative talent that will be behind this show, most notably Anthony and Joe Russo of (most recently) Avengers fame.
So, it comes to this: Will a Magic: The Gathering animated series be any good?
Honestly, the press release makes it sound like it’s going to be amazing, pulling producers and writers from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Star Wars Rebels, and Agent Carter. Going the animated route makes for better possibilities for the crazy stories that the Magic universe has.
Not much is known about the plot right now. All that the press release says is that it will be an all-new storyline around the Planeswalkers.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 23: Sydneysiders play a card game ‘Magic The Gathering’ during the 2013 Supanova pop culture festival at Sydney Showground on June 23, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
That could mean anything. The artwork released with it looks like Chandra Nalaar, which could mean we’ll be following the new iteration of the Gatewatch after the events of the War of the Spark storyline. Maybe have some fun Jace and Vraska adventures now that Liliana’s out of the picture?
Or, my old-school Magic-loving self can hope they will travel back in time and unearth some new stories around the original planeswalker, Urza. I mean, how can you have a new Urza card in Modern Horizons and just spring it on us with no warning and no storyline (yet)?
Or, if you want to go the hilarious route, I personally enjoy this tweet below about making it a Rick and Morty-style journey of Urza and Gerrard. Because you know Urza would lose his mind–again.
"Rick and Morty" but it's Urza and Gerrard.
— Foot Clan Reject (@Joren_Onirom) June 3, 2019
"Okay, okay, Gerrard, we gotta--*burp*--smuggle these Powerstones out of Phyrexia..."
There may still be some time before we see any other updates around this Netflix series. The possibilities are nearly limitless, and those who have their hands in this have proven themselves in other relatively nerdy endeavors.
Will a Netflix series bring new fans into the game? Will it be for the long-time dedicated fans? Or will it be a solid blend of the two? We’ll find out as production progresses.