The Gathering’ Film, TV Universe in the Works

Hasbro Entertainment is conjuring up a universe based on its Magic: The Gathering game. The toy company is teaming with Legendary Entertainment to develop a shared Magic: The Gathering universe that it says will span film and TV. The first order of business is adapting the game as a movie.

The company Wizards of the Coast launched Magic: The Gathering in 1993 as the world’s first trading card game. It soon was a worldwide hit, becoming a schoolyard staple in the 1990s and inspiring conventions. Hasbro acquired Wizards of the Coast in 1999, and says the game has reached 50 million players thanks to compelling characters, fantastical worlds and the deep strategy required to play.

“We pride ourselves on being thoughtful caretakers of singular, beloved IP, and no property better fits that description than Magic: The Gathering,” said Mary Parent, Legendary’s chairman of worldwide production. “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.”

Legendary has turned a number of known brands into franchises, such as Godzilla vs Kong and Dune, both of which span film and TV. It is also behind Netflix’s Enola Holmes movies, and coming up, it has the Minecraft movie starring Jason Momoa and hailing from Warner Bros.

Hasbro already has a Magic: The Gathering TV show set up at Netflix with Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, while a decade ago, 20th Century Fox developed a film universe that never got off the ground with producer Simon Kinberg.

“This is an exciting and complementary partnership, uniting one of the world’s most iconic brands with a powerful and proven steward,” said Hasbro Entertainment head of film Zev Foreman. “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.”