As a long-time Magic: The Gathering enthusiast who has spent countless hours poring over cards, reading lore, and immersing myself in the rich tapestry of this fantastical universe, I must say that the prospect of an animated series is truly exhilarating. However, as someone who has also watched far too many subpar adaptations of beloved franchises, I cannot help but feel a tinge of apprehension.
Imagining Magic: The Gathering as a television series can be quite challenging due to its rich thirty-year history, encompassing numerous stories, settings, and characters. The difficulty lies in the fact that while there’s an abundance of material, much of it isn’t cohesive, and the narrative has primarily been held together by a core group of characters more recently introduced. For a showrunner, choosing a main character, setting, and adversaries becomes tricky when faced with such a vast array of diverse elements, including various worlds and, indeed, magic itself.
Well, as a gamer, I’m pumped about this twist! Contrary to some rumors, Netflix has given us another chance with this show, during their Geeked Week announcements. The guy in charge, Terry Matalas, now has the task of wrangling all those iconic storylines and characters into a compact, coherent narrative – a bit like trying to fit an entire galaxy into a space station! I’m eagerly waiting to see what he comes up with for the next season of Star Trek: Picard (you know, ‘the good one’).
It seems this task may prove challenging due to its past history. The project was initially introduced in 2019 with the Russos involved, but that plan didn’t come through. Then, Jeff Kline took over and managed to cast Brandon Routh as Gideon Jura, yet that effort also failed. Now we’re on attempt number three with Matalas at the helm. He faces an uphill battle in navigating this project’s troubled production history, but the fact that it is now moving into production indicates that things might have progressed as far as they did under Kline’s tenure.
Why is Magic so hard to adapt?
The challenge with adapting Magic lies in its wide-ranging nature. Many sets within the main MTG universe shift locations frequently, and they are all distinct from one another. Although there are recurring themes like Ravnica or Dominaria, the focus of Magic often shifts quickly, moving to a new plane, concept, or location for creators to delve into.
These settings are often comparable to specific themes or genres. Thunder Junction resembles Magic: The Gathering’s take on Westerns. Kamigawa delves into Japanese symbolism, ranging from Samurai motifs to futuristic landscapes. Kaldheim mirrors MTG’s depiction of Vikings. There are also unique planes such as Ravnica, a world entirely made up of cities ruled by guilds identified by two colors. In fact, there are several planes inspired by horror, like Innistrad, which embodies gothic horror, Phyrexia, a plane characterized by body-horror related to metal, or even the current set, Duskmourne, a whole plane that resembles a giant haunted house with a hint of 80s vibe.
The point is that MTG is not one vibe; it’s tens of vibes all smashed together that can change depending on what month it is. That’s great for a card game but not the best for a TV show. So to nail down a show, choosing the planes to focus on is important, but it can’t be so limited that you never plane hop. That’s core to the brand’s identity. A Magic show wouldn’t feel like Magic without seeing locations like Dominaria, Ravnica, Zendikaar, and Mirrodin/Phyrexia. But moving a story through all of these at too fast a pace is almost definitely going to give whiplash.
Planeswalk with me
The focus isn’t solely on the setting; it’s also about the characters. From the depiction of the series, Planeswalkers are the main subjects. This aligns well with our understanding. Prior efforts notwithstanding, Wizards of the Coast managed to center the narrative around these characters in 2007 with Lorwyn, as they introduced Planeswalkers. Since then, Magic: The Gathering has primarily revolved around a group that ‘awakened their potential’, enabling them to traverse various planes freely. This continuous thread of these characters serves as a connection, allowing you to transition smoothly from the terrifying cosmic landscape of Zendikar to the adorable woodland plane of Bloomborrow, for example.
Due to each Planeswalker possessing five distinct colors, none has taken the spotlight as the primary protagonist in Magic. The original five characters – Ajani (White), Jace (Blue), Liliana (Black), Chandra (Red), and Garruk (Green) – have become the most recognized figures. While we can expect to see both Ajani, the lion-man, and Chandra, the pyromancer, it’s challenging to single out one as the main character, just as it would be in an initial Avengers movie to choose only one superhero to focus on. Instead, the focus is more on the team dynamic, regardless of its composition.
See, that’s the other issue. What started as five core Planeswalkers has only ballooned. There have now been 84 Planeswalkers (some have been de-sparked but we just don’t have time to get into what that means or how it happened – the answer is kind of dumb, anyway). Do you tell the story of the main five? What about how Garruk has been sidelined in favor of Nissa as the Green representative? Do you just focus on Chandra and Ajani to keep a tighter focus?
If you’ve made your decision, there’s another aspect to consider: Who should these characters confront? Magic lore is rich with omega-level threats, such as the Phyrexian Praetors, who desire to conquer and transform the multiverse into a twisted perfection. Also, there are the Eldrazi, eldritch forces of nature that bring unavoidable destruction. Not forgetting Nicol Bolas, one of Magic’s most iconic villains, constantly seeking more power. An MTG series that concentrates solely on one of these adversaries, focuses on a single plane, or picks a planeswalker as the main character might overlook what makes Magic unique: its ever-evolving and expansive narrative. However, a show trying to encompass all of it could quickly lose focus without a strong guiding hand.
Finding the Sol
In my eyes, it’s not hard to imagine a realm where this series thrives and leaves us spellbound. This universe is brimming with tales waiting to be shared, each one as captivating as the last. If the primary show achieves success, who knows? We might witness spin-offs or even multiple seasons that delve deep into the intricacies of the multiverse.
If a Magic: the Gathering series was produced without including The Phyrexians, it would seem inadequate or incomplete to many fans. If Chandra were the main character and her storylines were prioritized over those of other characters like Liliana, Vraska, or various intriguing Planeswalkers, viewers might feel cheated out of the rich narratives that could have been explored with these characters. I’m not convinced that Matalas can effectively cover such a broad range of stories within a single series without extending it over multiple seasons.
A more straightforward approach might be to focus on a single narrative centered around two Planeswalkers, their battles with Nicol Bolas, and eventually unfolding the tale of War of the Spark. To achieve this, creative minds may need to draw inspiration from different sets and blend them together, similar to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe combines elements from various comic book runs. This method has proven effective and could be applicable here.
Currently, the series only includes Chandra and Ajani, leaving us with very little knowledge about it. However, while I harbor some reservations regarding its scope, I remain optimistic that the show’s creators will find a way to make it work. It would be truly exciting to see these stories, which have been limited to books, cards, comics, and blogs, unfold over multiple episodes of a TV series. That being said, I can’t help but feel frustrated if my favorite character, Elesh Norn, is not included, and I assume you would feel the same way about your favorite aspect of Magic not being represented. This presents quite a challenging task for the showrunners of this animated series, as there will inevitably be someone who is disappointed. Let’s hope that the dissatisfied few are outnumbered by those who enjoy the final product.
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2024-09-27 13:25