Hasbro and Legendary are looking to create something big and epic with their live action adaptation of Magic: The Gathering, and according to Deadline, Blackberry director Matt Johnson is in talks to direct.
While no official deal is in place yet,Johnson is reportedly the top pick to direct the film. It’s still early and there’s no script or plot details, but this will mark the first major step forward in Hasbro and Legendary’s previously announced plans to build out a Magic movie and TV universe.
Magic: The Gathering was created in 1993, and the card game has since grown into a global fantasy phenomenon, with over 50 million fans. The game involves cards featuring a bunch of fantasy races, wizards, creatures, weapons, and spells that the players use as they battling across a sprawling multiverse.
With deep lore, decades of storylines the IP is packed with truely epic cinematic potential.
Johnson, if he signs on, would join the ranks of indie directors making the jump to major franchise filmmaking. His 2023 film BlackBerry was a grear sharply written docudrama about the rise and fall of the titular smartphone.
His latest project is Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, which is an expansion of his cult Canadian comedy series was just acquired by Neon following its SXSW debut. He also co-wrote, directed, and stars in the film.
Before that, Johnson directed Operation Avalanche, a Sundance-featured conspiracy thriller about faking the moon landing. He’s also been linked to A24’s Tony, a biopic about Anthony Bourdain starring The Holdovers breakout Dominic Sessa, though it’s unclear where that project stands.
If Magic: The Gathering does land Johnson, it seems like he’ll bring a very specific creative energy with an offbeat, character-driven, and genre-bending story to a franchise known for its complexity and lore.
As a longtime fan of this franchise, I’m very curious to see what this movie will be. But I would love it to deliver an epic fantasy advennture film, the same scale and size of The Lord of the Rings.
