Hasbro is set to bring its popular trading card game, Magic: The Gathering, to the big and small screens through a partnership with Legendary Entertainment. The collaboration will initially focus on a live-action feature film, followed by television series and other content as the cinematic universe develops.

The project marks Hasbro's latest effort to extract more revenue from its lucrative Magic: The Gathering brand, which boasts an estimated 50 million players worldwide and became the company's first brand to cross $1 billion in annual revenue in 2022. Hasbro acquired Magic: The Gathering's parent company, Wizards of the Coast, in 1999.

Hasbro has a history of adapting its brands for other entertainment avenues, including TV shows and movies based on My Little Pony, Transformers, and G.I Joe. The company is also pushing hard on Dungeons & Dragons, another brand it obtained through its Wizards of the Coast acquisition. At least five D&D video games are currently in development following the success of Baldur's Gate 3, but the latest attempt to adapt the franchise for live-action cinema failed to turn a profit.

Legendary Entertainment, known for producing feature films based on popular gaming franchises such as Warcraft and Pokémon Detective Pikachu, will bring its expertise to the Magic: The Gathering project. An animated TV series adaptation of M:TG is also already in development for Netflix, similar to the Arcane series that League of Legends developer Riot released on the streaming platform.

Zev Foreman, Head of Film at Hasbro Entertainment, expressed excitement about the partnership, stating, "This is an exciting and complementary partnership, uniting one of the world's most iconic brands with a powerful and proven steward. Magic: The Gathering has inspired decades of epic world-building and creative storytelling. It is a perfect match for Legendary's diversified approach to marquee IP, and we are excited to work together to build a whole new Magic: The Gathering universe."

While no release timeline has been announced for the Magic: The Gathering film and TV projects, the partnership signals Hasbro's continued efforts to expand its brand into new entertainment avenues and capitalize on its lucrative intellectual properties.

The move also underscores the growing trend of adapting popular gaming franchises for film and television, as seen with recent successes such as the Arcane series and the upcoming Halo TV series. As the entertainment industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Hasbro and Legendary Entertainment's Magic: The Gathering universe develops and resonates with fans.