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[Demoncarnotaur]

Via The Hollywood Reporter

Magic: The Gathering is heading to the big screen.

20th Century Fox has closed a deal to acquire the hugely popular fantasy card game from Hasbro and will develop the property with an eye to launch a massive franchise on the scale of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.

The studio has enlisted Simon Kinberg, the Fox-based writer-producer who is also helping shepherd the X-Men and Fantastic Four universes at the studio, to produce the adaptation. Kinberg will also act as the franchise's engineer -- or supreme sorcerer, if you will -- overseeing the development of the movie series in concert with Hasbro execs.

Magic was introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast, a company involved in the making of role-playing games that soon found itself at the forefront of the collectible trading-card game movement.

Magic involves cards with a host of wizards and creatures, weapons and spells that players use to defeat each other. Cards vary in strength, and some are rarer than others. (The rare ones also became hugely valuable.)

The game swept comic book shops and schools in the 1990s, and tournaments were organized. The popularity of the game is such that tournaments are now held worldwide.

Others companies followed Wizards of the Coast, which was bought by Hasbro in 1999, by acquiring licenses and creating card gamed based on properties such as Star Wars and Pokemon.

Execs Kira Goldberg and Ryan Jones were instrumental in the acquisition and will shepherd the films for Fox. Daniel Persitz will oversee for Hasbro.

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis and Wizards of the Coast CEO Greg Leeds will oversee and exec produce. Aditya Sood and Josh Feldman, Kinberg's key execs at his Genre Films production shingle, will also act as executive producers on the movie.

 

[No Love]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess this will have nothing to do with planeswalkers.

 

[kirblar]

As someone who's been playing for nearly two decades, I have only this to say:

lolololololololololololololololololololoolollolololololoolooloololol

 

[victreeb3l]

I bet its gonna be about some shitty kid discovering magic cards and magical stuff happening.

Anyways, I hope theres a hot female lead in this so I can say "I'd tap that" over and over again

 

[gazele]

Hopefully a player gets sucked into their deck or something, that's actually be kind of cool

I know that's not what's gonna happen

 

[sangreal]

When will the Hasbro bubble burst?

 

[An-Det]

What the fuck?

As someone who's been playing for nearly two decades, I have only this to say:

lolololololololololololololololololololoolollolololololoolooloololol

My response exactly.

 

[adj_noun]

They got a lot of mox

Spoiler

ie

to pull this move.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess this will have nothing to do with planeswalkers.

Oh, it definitely will.

 

[Leunam]

Jared Leto as Jace Beleren plz

 

[FoneBone]

Is there anybody at all who plays the game for its richly drawn world-building and storylines?

 

[C.Dark.DN]

What the fuck?



My response exactly.

I believe your response was "What the fuck" not "lolololollolololololol".

 

[Ferrio]

Is there anybody at all who plays the game for its richly drawn world-building and storylines?

I used to read the books when I was in college. I don't remember much other than urza and machines and some flying boat.

 

[victreeb3l]

Is there anybody at all who plays the game for its richly drawn world-building and storylines?

I read the books from the Odyssey and Onslaught blocks. Those were fun.

 

[Nyanmaruz]

I can understand Warcraft, but this?

 

[adj_noun]

You know, what I think was the very first Magic book...I actually really liked that one. Think it was called Arena.

 

[BronsonLee]

Nonononononono

 

[mf.luder]

McCauley Culkin cast as a mob goblin?!?!

 

[Pai Pai Master]

I'd watch a Karn spinoff movie.

Disclaimer: I haven't played magic in over a decade and I have no idea if Karn or Urza are still relevant but those are the only two characters that stuck with me.

 

[WARCOCK]

It's going to be a comedy where we make fun of nerdz right? Hopefully with the cast of the big bang theory.

 

[explodet]

Aw, I totally would have watched an animated series where kids would assemble theme decks and duel on the streets with ludicrously high stakes, describing each move in detail.

The whole power of friendship thing I can take or leave, though.

 

[Extra Sauce]

I have a feeling this will never see the light of day... or it will take 10 years and be terrible.

Prove me wrong, Hollywood.

 

[studyguy]

I had no idea Magic the Gathering had lore books beyond the little bits on each card.

 

[doctorcdcs]

Only way to make this perfect is to get Uwe Boll to direct it

 

[Ferrio]

Chances that one of the character will make quip about not drawing any mana?

 

[p_xavier]

Dungeons and Dragons was such a huge success!

 

[adj_noun]

Chances that one of the character will make quip about not drawing any mana?

It'll be really sarcastic, then some extra will turn to the camera and go "Mana BURRRRRRN!"

 

[davepoobond]

Name drop the movie!

It's the black lotus!



If its a movie about a group playing cards and they turn out to be magical it might be better than if its like a serious lore take on the cards backgrounds or whatever

 

[G-Fex]

it's a goddamn card game.


A CARD GAME.

 

[Ferrio]

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if this never came out, but it certainly has potential. A few of the old MtG novels were pretty damn entertaining. With the right script it could work well.

I don't know... the novels were pretty far out there in terms of what I think a casual audience would like to see.

Same reason why I doubt we'll ever see a Dragonlance movie.

 

[Tallshortman]

This sounds about as good an idea as the battleship movie.

 

[red13th]

Why do this?

 

[Sectorseven]

This will make a nice companion film to the upcoming WoW movie.

Spoiler

And Dungeons & Dragons.

 

[kirblar]

I'd watch a Karn spinoff movie.

Disclaimer: I haven't played magic in over a decade and I have no idea if Karn or Urza are still relevant but those are the only two characters that stuck with me.

Karn's alive, Urza's dead.

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

Initially I assumed that it would take place in the Magic universe itself. But I think it's more likely to be what someone mentioned before (kid finds cards magic happens).

 

[kazebyaka]

it's a goddamn card game.


A CARD GAME.

and? there are a shit ton of anime based on card games out there

 

[GreatestHits]

It used to feel like the universe of a particular franchise expanded when it hit the big screen. Now days, it feels like moviefication of brands and IP's hurts them more than anything. I mean if you respect the movie as part of the rest of the universe.

Really curious to see what angle they take to keep Magic unique and interesting on film

 

[Ferrio]

I don't know, there's grounded ones and others that are just batshit insane. Something like 'Arena', maybe if toned down, could work, no? Or just Gladiator but with magic.

Like I said I don't remember any of the books or what they were called. I just remember reading about urza's history and how he fucked everything, and stuff with the weatherlight and gerrard? Not sure what books those were.

 

[G-Fex]

and? there are a shit ton of anime based on card games out there

yeah but those have protagonists with ridiculous hair

 

[User 100115]

As someone who's been playing for nearly two decades, I have only this to say:

lolololololololololololololololololololoolollolololololoolooloololol

As someone who played since beta and quit in 2006ish, I say the same.

Also, um, HOW?

 

[TestMonkey]

Excellent. This should drive the prices of cards up nicely. Hopefully they don't try to put in any Yugioh heart of the cards stuff.

Magic goes like this sometimes.

Player 1
Play Tropical Island.
Pass the turn.

Player 2
Draw a card.
Play Gemstone Mine.
Gitaxian Probe
Gitaxian Probe
Tap Gemstone Mine and cast Brainstorm
Play Lotus Petal
Play Chrome Mox
Sacrifice Lotus Petal and cast two Rite of Flame
Play two Lion’s Eye Diamond
Cast Burning Wish
Maintain priority and break Lion’s Eye Diamond.
Retrieve Tendrils of Agony and cast it for 20 life.

Can't wait for the "how are pieces of cardboard worth so much" comments.

 

[Rokam]

 

[a Master Ninja]

Will they make cards based on the movie?

 

[User 100115]

Guess I should hold off on selling my entire collection now eh?

 

[Ravager61]

The lore of MtG has gotten pretty extensive over the last few years. I can easily see how they could make a movie out of the game. Now the quality of the lore is questionable at times but they have a lot to draw from.

 

[Karkador]

A Magic documentary would be far more interesting than any sort of fictional thing they could possibly do.

With that said: FOX, we already have BUDDYFIGHT, how can you possibly top it?

 

[Rentahamster]

Pirates of the Caribbean did well.

Battleship was ass.

Movies based on IPs with no discernible story seem hit or miss.

 

[DieH@rd]

As someone who played since beta and quit in 2006ish, I say the same.

Also, um, HOW?

Novels. Hopefully they will go with really old-school stuff, Urza & stuff.

 

[Platy]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess this will have nothing to do with planeswalkers.

This, or anything ever related to the lore =P

 

[Mr. Poolman]

Sure, what could go wrong?

oh...