Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering Series Will Rival HBO’s Game of Thrones

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For fifteen years, HBO has been the standard for high-quality fantasy TV. Game of Thrones not only established the genre but also dramatically changed what television could be, proving that fantasy could be serious, visually stunning, and incredibly popular. It truly became a major part of our culture.

Netflix is creating a TV series based on a story that truly features a multiverse. If successful, this show could position Netflix as the leading streaming service for fantasy content, surpassing HBO.

What Is Magic: The Gathering About?

First released in 1993, Magic: The Gathering is considered the original trading card game. Over the past three decades, it’s grown to include more than 27,000 different cards, plus over 60 novels, comics, and video games. It also features a rich and ongoing story with many connected worlds, characters, and conflicts.

The world features powerful magic-users called Planeswalkers who travel between different realities. Each of these dimensions has its own unique look, magical laws, governments, and backstory. Planeswalkers battle each other by casting spells, aiming to reduce their opponent’s life to nothing.

For over two decades, various attempts to bring this story to the screen have come and gone, even involving directors like the Russo Brothers. Now, in September 2024, Netflix is giving it a fresh start. Terry Matalas, known for the popular third season of Star Trek: Picard, is leading the project, with animation handled by Patrick Osborne, an Academy Award winner for Feast, and DIGIC Pictures.

By May 2025, Matalas announced that all the scripts for the first season were finished and they had begun casting and animating the show.

Magic: The Gathering Will Have Fewer Restrictions Than Game of Thrones

One of the biggest challenges facing filmmakers is the high cost of creating believable fantasy worlds. These expansive stories require significant budgets to bring to life on screen. For example, the first two seasons of Rings of Power reportedly cost over a billion dollars, and each dragon scene in House of the Dragon is incredibly expensive – enough to bankrupt many other shows.

Unlike some fantasy adaptations, Magic: The Gathering avoids many common problems by using animation. This was a smart choice, as animation overcomes the difficulties of bringing fantastical worlds to life. The series can fully realize any new setting – whether it’s the futuristic cityscapes of Kamigawa or the elegant architecture of Ravnica – without being limited by what things should look like in reality.

Unlike Game of Thrones, which was limited to a single world, Magic: The Gathering has the freedom to completely change its look and feel with each new installment.

Magic: The Gathering’s Multiverse Will Be Epic

The story primarily takes place on one continent, Westeros. The seven kingdoms within Westeros are the main focus of power struggles, resulting in complex conflicts between kings, armies, noble houses, and those vying for the throne.

Creating the fantastical parts of the show – things like dragons, White Walkers, and the magic itself – was consistently challenging. And all of these elements were designed to support a story focused on this one particular land.

Unlike some fantasy stories limited to a single world, Magic: The Gathering can explore countless different realms thanks to its multiverse setting. The upcoming series focuses on Chandra Nalaar, a powerful fire mage whose story revolves around themes of freedom and facing her history, and will also feature the character Jace.

These three characters act as consistent guides for viewers as the story jumps between different worlds on the same map. Because the show is animated, it can explore a wide range of visual styles and even different types of stories. But Magic: The Gathering isn’t just visually appealing—it also features a central character, Chandra, whose emotional story is easy to connect with. It’s through her experiences that the complexities of this multiverse will be unveiled, and it’s a smart approach by Netflix.

Similar to Game of Thrones, this story boasts a large cast of characters, multiple storylines that connect, and explores difficult moral questions, making it a strong candidate for an HBO Original series. Its real strength lies in its length and how well it’s made – these elements could help it stand out in the crowded fantasy genre.

Netflix May Overtake HBO in Fantasy TV

HBO remains the leader in fantasy television, but viewers are eager for fresh content, which explains the recent success of a new series. The dominance Game of Thrones once had is fading, and Magic: The Gathering is well-positioned to become the next big fantasy hit.

Given the talented team working on the show, it looks promising. Terry Matalas has a strong track record with critically acclaimed Star Trek projects, and he clearly understands how to adapt existing stories respectfully. The fact that all the scripts are finished before animation even begins is a good sign that Magic: The Gathering will be more than just visual effects without substance.

The show has a fantastic, multi-decade storyline and the potential to bring its ambitious ideas to life. If the storytelling is strong and Netflix gives the series room to develop – something the platform hasn’t always done – it could become the biggest fantasy show of the decade, even surpassing Game of Thrones.

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2026-05-22 02:10