--- title: "Netflix's Magic: The Gathering series will visit many worlds, where Game of Thrones stayed on one continent" description: "After more than two decades of Hollywood false starts, Netflix is developing and producing an animated Magic: The Gathering series, and its scripts for…" url: https://tv-movies.skoop.news/say-goodbye-to-hbo-as-the-king-of-fantasy-as-netflix-s-next---10-25/ published: 2026-10-25T04:02:54.092996-04:00 modified: 2026-10-25T04:02:54.093009-04:00 section: "TV & Movies" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["game of thrones", "Dungeons & Dragons", "DIGIC Pictures", "Patrick Osborne", "Sundered Houses", "Song of Ice & Fire", "Netflix", "Campaign", "Ajani", "D&D"] hashtags: ["#GameOfThrones", "#DungeonsDragons", "#DIGICPictures", "#Series", "#movieclips"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Netflix_headquarters.jpg/1280px-Netflix_headquarters.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # Netflix's Magic: The Gathering series will visit many worlds, where Game of Thrones stayed on one continent > After more than two decades of Hollywood false starts, Netflix is developing and producing an animated Magic: The Gathering series, and its scripts for season one are done. Published 2026-10-25 · Updated 2026-10-25 · TV & Movies, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - The Magic: The Gathering franchise has been circling Hollywood since 2001, and the Russo Brothers were attached at one point, but earlier projects eventually evaporated [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). - Netflix restarted the project from scratch in September 2024 with new showrunner Terry Matalas [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). - The series is animated, which removes most of the live-action hurdles that fantasy shows face [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). ## A 24-year Hollywood detour The Magic: The Gathering franchise has been circling Hollywood since 2001, and the Russo Brothers were attached at one point, but earlier projects eventually evaporated [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). If you follow TV fantasy, the news is that Netflix is now developing and producing a television adaptation of the card game [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). The game has plenty to adapt. It launched in 1993 and is the world's first trading card game [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). Over three decades it has piled up more than 27,000 unique playable cards [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). ## Where the project stands Netflix restarted the project from scratch in September 2024 with new showrunner Terry Matalas [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). Oscar winner Patrick Osborne and DIGIC Pictures are handling the animation [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). As of May 2025, Matalas confirmed that all scripts for the first season were complete [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). Production had moved into the casting and animation phase [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). ## Why animation matters The series is animated, which removes most of the live-action hurdles that fantasy shows face [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). For scale, The Rings of Power reportedly cost over a billion dollars across its first two seasons [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). The show will visit planes such as Kamigawa, Innistrad, and Ravnica [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). Each of them can be rendered without live-action restrictions [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). ## The Game of Thrones comparison Game of Thrones was structured around a single world, Westeros, which is one continent [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). Magic's multiple planes give the Netflix series a different shape [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). The HBO show also faced book comparisons, because it made changes to the books and went past them [[2]](https://movieweb.com/dungeons-dragons-ravenloft-bigger-game-of-thrones/). HBO currently has House of the Dragon running, plus a fantasy-lite show, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which proved to be a worldwide hit [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). ## The cast of characters The series is centered on the Planeswalker Chandra Nalaar, a pyromancer [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). Beloved Magic characters Ajani and Jace will also appear [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). ## A crowded fantasy field Netflix has more than one tabletop property in the works. It is developing a live-action Dungeons & Dragons series titled Ravenloft, which will bring the tabletop RPG's gothic horror setting to television [[2]](https://movieweb.com/dungeons-dragons-ravenloft-bigger-game-of-thrones/). The series will tell the origin story of Darklord Strahd von Zarovich [[2]](https://movieweb.com/dungeons-dragons-ravenloft-bigger-game-of-thrones/). Ravenloft has more lore and material to draw on than Game of Thrones, because the D&D world is larger and more complex than George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire universe [[2]](https://movieweb.com/dungeons-dragons-ravenloft-bigger-game-of-thrones/). Elsewhere, Apple TV is tackling Sanderson's Cosmere, and Prime Video is juggling multiple high-profile fantasy projects [[2]](https://movieweb.com/dungeons-dragons-ravenloft-bigger-game-of-thrones/). ## How long fantasy runs Game of Thrones offered fans just under 80 hours of storylines [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). Critical Role, a show in which well-known voice actors gather each week to play Dungeons & Dragons, has episodes that usually run four hours or more [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). Its campaigns usually run for 100+ episodes, so the current Campaign 4 is not yet halfway through [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). Campaign 4 is set in the world of Aramán and led by Dimension 20's Brennan Lee Mulligan [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). In that world, people are rebuilding after the Shapers' War, an event that led mortals to slay the oppressive Gods that ruled over them [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). The Sundered Houses are five magical noble houses that belonged to the Obridimian Empire before it fell alongside the Shapers [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). Campaign 4's revolutionaries, a 13-player main cast, plot to bring the Sundered Houses down in the name of freedom [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). The campaign has already lost one player character [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). Mulligan's homebrewed death-and-dying rules include no resurrection magic, which raises the stakes above an average D&D campaign [[3]](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/). ## What this means for you If you miss Game of Thrones, the Netflix series offers a different structure, with planes such as Kamigawa, Innistrad, and Ravnica in place of one continent [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). If you know the game, look for Chandra Nalaar at the center, with Ajani and Jace also on the show [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). The scripts for season one were complete as of May 2025, and production had moved into casting and animation [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). Animation by Patrick Osborne and DIGIC Pictures is the work to watch [[1]](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/). ## Sources 1. [Say Goodbye to HBO as the King of Fantasy as Netflix's Next Hit Shows Game of Thrones How It's Done](https://www.cbr.com/netflix-magic-the-gathering-show-game-of-thrones-rival/) — cbr.com 2. [Netflix's New High Fantasy Universe Is Already Much Bigger Than Peak 'Game of Thrones'](https://movieweb.com/dungeons-dragons-ravenloft-bigger-game-of-thrones/) — movieweb.com 3. [Game of Thrones’ Perfect Replacement is a 100+ Hours Fantasy Series that's Free on YouTube](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones-replacement-critical-role/) — Polygon Image: Photo: Coolcaesar at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Netflix_headquarters.jpg) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. 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