Netflix’s highly anticipated animated series based on the popular trading card game Magic: The Gathering has received a significant update from writer and executive producer Terry Matalas, who is also known for his work on Marvel’s Vision Quest. Speaking at The Sackhoff Show podcast, Matalas shared that the series, which has been in development for several years, has completed all its scripts and is now moving into the casting and animatics phase. He emphasized that the project will be a CGI project, a choice made because animation is deemed the most effective way to depict the vast and varied worlds and planes of existence inherent to the Magic: The Gathering universe, which would be prohibitively expensive to achieve in live-action television without an enormous budget.
“It’s not an anime, it’s a big, giant, expansive, CGI wonderfest,” Matalas confirmed about Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering series, while also explaining why they chose the specific medium. “Specifically with Magic: The Gathering, which has all these different worlds and planes of existence to travel, you kinda need animation to do it, because it’s prohibitively expensive to do it in a television series unless someone’s committed hundreds of millions of dollars to it. It’s [animation] the right way to bring it to television, I think. At least to start. Cause it’s a tough one to crack.”
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“Hasbro is involved,” the writer explained about the behind-the-scenes process. “It’s not just Netflix. Netflix has been wonderful, and Hasbro has been wonderful. And there’s Wizards of the Coast, which also has Dungeons & Dragons. They are protective of an IP. And I’m like, ‘I need all of you to like what I’m doing. But, join hands and say this is the story we’re telling.’ Because sometimes you see an IP [production] and you can tell, like, ‘This guy got noted to death, they didn’t want to do this, and they didn’t want to do that.’ This has been an incredible experience where everybody has been on the same page and collaborative in a really wonderful way. I mean, it can so easily not be.”
While Matalas has been working on the Magic: The Gathering series for years, it might still take a while for fans to watch it on Netflix. As Matalas explains, “[The episodes] are all written. But animation just takes so long to do. Now we are just starting to cast, and really hear it and do animatics. It takes a bit.” However, he also underlines that animation has its advantages, as it allows the creative team to refine the story and make sure it’s perfect. “Another thing that’s really good with animation is that you can write it, then they do an animatic, and then you watch it and you’re like, ‘That scene sucks, I got rewrite that scene entirely.’ And then they call the actors back, and you can fix the problem. It’s the thing you cannot do in live-action unless you have hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s just part of the process. So that’s a delight.”
Why Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering Animated Series Is About Chandra
Tackling a property as expansive and beloved as Magic: The Gathering presents a unique set of creative challenges, especially when it comes to selecting a narrative entry point. For Terry Matalas, translating this universe to television required a genuine engagement with the game’s extensive lore and a thoughtful process to determine how best to introduce its myriad characters and planes to a broad audience. This dedication to understanding the source material was instrumental in shaping the series’ storyline, ensuring that the chosen focus would serve as a compelling gateway into the Multiverse for both seasoned players and newcomers alike.
“The last time I played Magic, I had a bunch of friends who were really into it,” Matalas explained about his previous experience with Magic: The Gathering. “I want to say, like, 1999? It’s actually a very complex game of strategy, with endless possibilities of how you can do things. It’s one of those things that, if you’re going to do it, your brain has to almost be addicted to it and understand the strategy, and then you start to want more decks. It’s for smart people. There are legions of fans in Los Angeles who play it. They are really smart people.”
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“There’s an infinite amount of decks, and an infinite amount of characters and mythology,” Matalas underlined, explaining how the vast lore of Magic affected his creative process. “I went away and consumed far too much of it. At one point, I was like ‘I don’t know [how to write this story]. You could start here, you could start there…’ And then there’s one specific character, Chandra, who is a pyromancer, whose backstory I started to fall in love with. So let’s pick one point of view and then expand and bring in one by one all these other characters. How do you tell a story that will immerse fans in the world they want to be in and see the things that make them want to feel seen? But also, how do you get people like, ‘Hey, mom, let me show you this story.’”
Chandra Nalaar is one of the most iconic and popular Planeswalkers in the Magic: The Gathering multiverse, known for her rebellious spirit and powerful fire spells. She often struggles with authority and impulsiveness, but possesses a strong sense of justice and a compassionate heart. Because of that, her lore frequently involves themes of freedom, emotional expression, and confronting her past. Matalas’ approach of focusing on a key character’s journey to introduce a wider universe mirrors the strategy employed by Netflix’s critically acclaimed animated series Arcane. Arcane successfully brought the world of League of Legends to a broader audience by centering its initial narrative on the origins and intertwined destinies of a few central champions, like Vi and Jinx, before gradually expanding to showcase more of the game’s extensive roster and lore.
Are you excited about Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering animated series focusing on Chandra? Let us know in the comments!
