Legendary, Hasbro plan live-action Magic: The Gathering film and TV franchise

Magic: The Gathering was created in 1993

Legendary Entertainment and Hasbro Entertainment have revealed plans to turn Magic: The Gathering, the popular trading card game, into a live-action film and television franchise.

The companies said they would first focus on a feature film, followed by a TV series and other related content as part of an expanding screen-based universe.

Magic: The Gathering, which Hasbro says is its first US$1bn brand in terms of revenue, is a strategy game that was created in 1993. It has become one of the most popular card games in the world, with more than 50 million people playing the game across both tabletop and digital versions.

Legendary is known for having adapted and expanded several franchises, including Dune and Monsterverse, the latter of which includes Godzilla x Kong and Kong: Skull Island, and the upcoming Minecraft movie.

Separately from this deal, Hasbro Entertainment, which sits within toymaker Hasbro, is in production on an animated version of Magic: The Gathering for Netflix.

It is also reimagining board game Clue for film and TV with Sony, plus it has a deal with The CW to make gameshows based on Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit, and an agreement with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap and Lionsgate to make a Monopoly movie.

“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.

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