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‘Magic: The Gathering’ Netflix Series Taps Terry Matalas as New Showrunner

The long-gestating “Magic: The Gathering” animated series at Netflix is moving forward with a new showrunner.

Terry Matalas is now set as the series’ showrunner, as revealed during Netflix’s annual Geeked Week event. The new take on the series is now in production. The show is produced in partnership with Hasbro Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast. Plot details for the new iteration are being kept under wraps.

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There had recently been widespread speculation that the show was no longer moving forward at Netflix. Originally announced in 2019, the first iteration of the series was overseen by the Russo brothers of MCU fame. But then Jeff Kline was announced as the new executive producer and creative lead on the show in 2021 after the Russos departed over creative differences, with Brandon Routh being announced as voicing the series lead not long after.

Since then, however, there has been virtually no news about the series. Routh recently gave an interview in which he said he believed the show was “not happening” anymore, though it will remain at Netflix now under Matalas’ supervision.

This is the latest high-profile TV gig announced for Matalas this year. Variety exclusively reported in May that he is set as the showrunner on Marvel-Disney+ Vision series starring Paul Bettany. Matalas received widespread praise for his work running the third and final season “Star Trek: Picard,” which was released in 2023. The season saw the reunion of the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” He is also known for creating and showrunning the Syfy series “12 Monkeys,” which ran for four seasons. His other credits include the CBS reboot of “MacGyver,” “Nightflyers,” “Nikita,” “Terra Nova,” and “Star Trek: Enterprise.”

He is repped by CAA and Anonymous Content.

The “Magic: The Gathering” tabletop card game was created by Richard Garfield and first released in 1993. Since then, the game has spawned a digital game, esports league, comic book series, and a best-selling novel. It has been published in 11 languages in over 70 countries.