The Netflix series Magic: The Gathering is back and will likely focus on two beloved characters

Despite years without consistent updates, Netflix confirmed last week that there will be an official Magic: The Gathering animated series is back in production at the streaming service. Early art even appears to feature beloved pyromancer Chandra Nalaar.

The latest update came unexpectedly via a press release on Thursday, which not only announced that the series was in production, but also that writer Terry Matalas had been brought on as showrunner, following his recent work on Star Trek: Picard and Syfy’s 12 monkeys Television editing.

Also starring is Patrick Osborne, an animator and writer who worked on the show among other things Great Hero 6, Wreck-it Ralphand his Oscar-winning animated film, Party.

While no other details were included in the announcement, a new promotional image appeared featuring two of MagicChandra and Ajani Goldmane’s most popular characters were also present at the news.

Updates for the show have been scarce since it was first announced in 2019 with an expected 2022 premiere, but earlier this month rumors began circulating that production had been halted following an interview with Brandon Routh, in which the actor told Collider, “I did vote for it. As far as I know, no one has put out a press release about it, but apparently it’s not happening. That’s kind of old news.”

Routh, best known for his roles in Superman Returns And Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, was originally cast to play Gideon Jura, a heroic warrior and recurring character in the card game from his introduction in 2010 until the character’s death in the 2019 expansion, War of the Spark. But since there are narrative details about Netflix Magic The series remains a mystery, with it unclear whether Routh’s performance or Gideon’s character will appear in the final series.

The only characters remotely confirmed for now are Chandra and Ajani, with Chandra being the only consistent thread in the series’ long-term development after she was first mentioned by name by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo when they were initially hired to Magic for Netflix.

As one of Magic‘s most depicted characters, Chandra has been a central figure in the card game’s sprawling, multi-dimensional storyline since her first card in 2007. After her introduction in the Lorwyn expansion, the hot-headed pyromancer has appeared on countless cards throughout the game’s history and has played a crucial role in driving the story forward in some of the game’s most defining events.

If the Netflix series were to adapt Chandra’s story as we know it today, fans would get to witness some of the biggest wars from the game, including the battle to save the world of Zendikar from a swarm of gigantic Lovecraftian monsters known as Eldrazi.

The other character revealed in the latest promotional image is a bipedal lion warrior known as Ajani Goldmane. The character is usually depicted as a lion’s head atop the shredded body of a hairy professional wrestler.

Ajani was first introduced in 2007, in the same set as Chandra. Though their paths have crossed only occasionally in the years since, he’s been an equally consistent presence in the game’s underlying narrative. Just last year, Ajani played a key role in the war against the parasitic civilization of biomechanical beings known as Phyrexians, who are invading and consuming entire empires in their cultish crusade for interdimensional perfection.

Perhaps the latest promotional image hints at the changing tone of the animated series, following the Russo brothers’ departure from the project. After their success with Avengers: Infinity War And Avengers: Endgameit was speculated that they were hired to take their approach to comic book movies to the equally grand scale of Magic conflicts.

But the current creative team — namely Matalas and Osborne — have a very different resume. Their stories focus more on up-close character development, and would Magic pay more attention to the personal toll that the conflicts in the game’s story take on the iconic characters and their loved ones.

Luckily for fans of the game and fantasy stories in general, Magic brings with it over 30 years of stories, characters, and world-building that could be adapted into a striking animated series. Whether the series sheds new light on the stories behind the cards or places these characters in brand new situations remains to be seen.