As the majority of MTG players will know, Wizards of the Coast releases a lot of products. Not only is the yearly release calendar completely chockablock with sets, but there’s even more on top of that. Between Secret Lair releases, promotions, and a bizarre number of brand deals, the MTG machine never stops.
With how relentless the MTG release calendar can be, it’s easy to forget what happened in any given year. Hell, some sets like Dominaria Remastered seemed to come and go with so little fanfare that they practically never happened! Despite this trend, however, there’s one MTG product that we haven’t been able to forget about.
Announced all the way back in 2021, Hasbro has long been teasing a Magic: The Gathering Netflix show. Despite disappearing off the face of the earth, multiple times, miraculously, according to Hasbro, it’s still in the works!
It Lives! Ish…
Originally penned for a 2022 release, it’s safe to say that the MTG Netflix show hasn’t had an easy time. After all, the last time we looked at a calendar it was 2023, with only a few months remaining. Despite this added time, the highly-anticipated Netflix show has been nowhere to be found, much to the bemusement of players.
Disappearing off the map entirely, players have been left almost completely in the dark about the Netflix show. Outside of a few images and casting details, we’ve really not been told anything. That was, at least, until recently, when Hasbro’s CEO, Chris Cocks, finally spoke up about the missing series!
While we’re getting very excited about this mention, unfortunately, Cocks didn’t say all too much about the project. In fact, they only mentioned it in passing at the start of a recent investor presentation. Stating that it’s one of Hasbro’s “over 30 projects in development,” it seems the “animated Magic series with Netflix” hasn’t been forgotten about.
Unfortunately, while this acknowledgment is better than nothing, it’s clearly not a lot of information. We’ve not been giving a new release date, for instance, or any new information for that matter. All we know is that it still exists in one form or another, whether that’s in development hell or not.
So… Where Is It Then?
Without a crystal ball, or orb to ponder, sadly, we just don’t know where the MTG Netflix show is right now. There’s a chance it has been held up by the recent writers’ and actors’ guild strikes. However, this seems unlikely. According to Wizards, in 2021 the scripts have already been written, and the actors cast for the show.
With these details nailed down, the burden theoretically falls on the animation studio to get the work done. Originally, Bardel Entertainment, the folks behind Rick and Morty, were in charge of this. However, that changed during development. Following this, Snowball Studios of Muppet Babies fame took over. Now, on IMDB, Hasbro’s own Allspark Animation is listed as the main production company.
Between these shifting companies, it seems that, behind the scenes, this Netflix show has definitely been struggling somewhat. Ideally, this won’t impact the final quality of the show, however, it’s hard to believe this won’t affect the quality in some way. For better or worse, however, we’re just going to have to wait and see.
While there are definitely a lot of unknowns surrounding the MTG Netflix show, thankfully, we do know a few details. For starters, we know that Brandon Routh and Lexi DiBenedetto have been cast as Gideon Jura and Chandra Nalaar respectively. Alongside this, we know the series will be set on the plane of Ravnica.
We’re Back to Waiting…
Unfortunately, while a few tiny details have been confirmed about the show, a huge amount still remains a mystery. This hasn’t changed, even after Chris Cocks acknowledged the project most recently. Saying that, however, it now seems there’s a real chance that it could appear again in the near future.
Not to rain on our own parade already, but, ultimately, we don’t know what the future holds. Subsequently, wishing for an upcoming announcement is simply wishful thinking that’s not grounded in anything. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what the future brings, even if that is terribly boring…
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