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Fox planning 'Magic: The Gathering' movie with 'X-Men' writer

Fox planning 'Magic: The Gathering' movie with 'X-Men' writer

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magic mtg 1020 stock
magic mtg 1020 stock

Magic: The Gathering kicked off the trading card game craze way back in 1993, by turning collectible cards into powerful magic spells and fantastic creatures used in a deep, strategic game. Even today, the franchise rakes in money with a never-ending series of expansion sets and tournaments, and it might be getting even bigger soon. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Fox has obtained the rights to produce a Magic: The Gathering movie.

Tap Simon Kinsberg to produce one movie

While we don't know anything about the picture itself yet or what the story might entail, the publication does specify a few names attached to the project — most notably Simon Kinsberg. He's the man who brought us Jumper and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and he's also writing and producing the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. He even has some degree of experience adapting a two-dimensional board game to the screen, having helped write the script for Ouija, out later this year. Magic: The Gathering could pose a similar sort of blank slate to Ouija for its filmmakers, with few characters or themes that would necessarily need to be written into the script. Although recent Magic expansion sets have placed emphasis on a number of powerful "planeswalkers" and the canon is rich with lore, there isn't a consistent overarching narrative. The primary trapping of Magic is that mages hop between planes of existence while doing battle with magical energy which they draw from the land around them.

Perhaps as interesting as the film itself, though, is what a Magic film could mean for Magic players. It could mean a merchandising blitz for Hasbro, the toy company which owns the card game. Theoretically, the movie could not only kick off a brand new set of expansions for the game, but perhaps also spark renewed interest in Magic action figures and other physical products. Hasbro previously had a tie-in with the 2010 film The Sorceror's Apprentice, but didn't fully capitalize.