Legendary Entertainment, a major media company, has announced a partnership with Hasbro to create a live-action film and television franchise around a flagship Hasbro game and property, Magic: The Gathering. Legendary’s two-prong rollout of the announcement targeted gamers, through Legendary’s subsidiary Nerdist and a video announcement by The Command Zone, as well as industry press such as Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.
According to various media sources, Legendary plans to launch the Magic: The Gathering live-action franchise with at least one film before adding a television series. This mirrors the approach Legendary has taken with other franchises, such as Dune, which started with the film Dune: Part One in 2021 before expanding to prestige television with HBO’s Dune: Prophecy.
The Legendary-Hasbro deal is part of a change in strategy for Hasbro. In 2023, Hasbro sold eOne, its in-house film and television business, and changed its focus to partnering with outside studios to promote its most powerful brands. The Legendary-Hasbro announcement and the unrelated animated series announcement by Netflix are early results from the new approach.
Any Magic: The Gathering live-action film or television show is still years away. Fans with long memories are likely to be skeptical, as previously announced deals for live-action Magic: The Gathering entertainment (Universal in 2008, Fox in 2014) ended quietly with no results. With Legendary’s track record, however, the third time just might be the charm.
