Magic, the Movie
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Jan. 4, 2015, 10:41 p.m. by InnerFlame
I was just wondering what we know about the movie so far. I've done a little research but have only come across some sketchy websites with some sketchy "leaks".
Do we have a cast, release date, anything?
Plot-wise I think they'd visit a story already developed by Wizards like Ravnica or Mirrodin or they take the perspective of a teenager discovering his/her planeswalking ability and introduces the viewers to a conflict that he/she is thrown into.
January 4, 2015 11:54 p.m.
SimicPower says... #4
January 5, 2015 12:54 a.m.
I personally would love to see Sorin's story. Though I think this would do better as a TV series. More time to flesh out each character, their full story, and their interactions with one another.
January 5, 2015 12:56 a.m.
InnerFlame says... #6
So all we have is what vault said? I heard speculation that it may revolve around urza, but that was from a less than reliable source. Whatever it is, I hope they choose a good story not just for magic players, but non magic players as well.
January 5, 2015 1 a.m.
SimicPower says... #7
I think/hope they might do a Dack Fayden story. However, it seems likely they will just do a story with Chandra, Jace, Garruk, etc. I also think Scars block would look really cool as a movie. Another option would be the original weatherlight saga. There are so many options!
January 5, 2015 1:04 a.m.
SimicPower says... #8
Wizards has been very limited as to which information they are allowed to reveal to the public. Another thing we know is that it is not happening very soon. I wouldn't expect in within the next few years.
January 5, 2015 1:07 a.m.
Well, X-men went back to the past to "fix" the future. I guess we're getting the Tarkir block!
January 5, 2015 2:17 a.m.
A Magic: The Gathering story would be much better told in a high budget TV series. You'd have to pull away from the (unfortunate) nerdy taboo MTG has. Say instead of Magic: The Gathering call it Spark or something along thouse lines. I think introducing a whole new planeswalker would be cool. Maybe a Jeskai Monk or something like that. I mean, imagine. A Jeskai Student about to go through his final exam before he choses the path in which to follow, when the Monestary is attacked by the Mardu. The Monk is helpig fight off the onslaught but is struck by an arrow in the stomach. When the adrenaine gets pumping and they start to rise again, they planeswalk away. They travel to Ravnica, and are taken in by a guildmage of the selesnyan convent. After regaining conciousness they speak to the guildmage to see where they are. They learn of Ravnica, the Guilds, and a human pact between them named Jace, a powerful mage who could help them if they can make contact with him, but he is missing. There is also a sub-plot aside from finding Jace, this would be that, in Jace's absence, the Dimir and Rakdos have teamed up to try and conquer Ravnica. Thats a good start I feel. I would love if they did something like that, and eventually the Monk starts traveling the planes meeting people like Sorin or Nissa, and becomes the target of Garruk and/or Vraska. It'd have weekly one-hour episodes and some extended two-hour ones. It could be FABULOUS, I just feel a movie wont be enough time.
January 5, 2015 2:30 a.m.
@vault, the writer of the first film? Which film are you talking about, the Magic one?
January 5, 2015 4:16 a.m.
gnarlicide says... #12
I think the MTG movie will come sooner than you think. 21st Century FOX is in brutal competition with Universal, (whom just greenlit the WoW movie that they want to make and sounds like they are expecting it late 2016) hell, just look at their competition against each other with comic franchises they release movies in tandem usually. Which brings me to my next point, the MTG movie was authorized BECAUSE of the talk about a WoW movie, 21st Century Fox doesn't want to be left behind on a possible fantasy game movie rush. They sort of got a hold of Hasbro in a panic.
But do not worry!!!
When WotC got "bought out" by Hasbro, just by a little reading, you can tell that Hasbro got the shit end of the deal. It almost looks like the only things Hasbro gets out of the buy out was the ability to distribute MTG, and some of the profits. they literally have no say in what goes on at Wizards. Its actually quite comical that the largest toy/game company can get manhandled like that in a negotiation. Which brings me to my next, and more awesome point:
Even though it seems 21st Century Fox chose MTG in a panic for their fantasy game movie; lets remember that 21st Century Fox (or one of its affiliates) was the group that gave us that really crappy Dungeons and Dragons movie. And people remember that kind of stuff. Assuming that many people that work at WotC actually know about D&D, I would think that they know how movie companies can easily fuck up.
Remember how I said that Hasbro got a shitty deal with the WotC merge? Well, when they [WotC] got wind that their product was being used as a movie, they probably realized that Hasbro doesn't really give a shit about story lines. After all, Hasbro allowed movies like Battleship, the first G.I. Joe movie and that fuckery that was labeled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So in an awesome act of, "that's my bread and butter you're fucking with", WotC has taken absolute control of damn near everything that is involved in the MTG film.
Wizards has opted/forced to have a production liaison, whom pretty much tells the director and producer that they will be fired if they screw things up. Wizards also gets to CHOOSE the writer. So naturally, they chose the guy who wrote the GoT episodes. I also read somewhere that WotC was trying to have talks about who gets to do the special effects, and they are aiming at trying to get the folks that did Lord of the Rings.
Everything that this movie will have MUST be scrubbed by some kind of WotC employee and I am sure that they might even get that weird book that they use to tell the artists how to illustrate creatures involved.
On and unrelated note: WotC are also promotional geniuses. I have read very recently that there is going to be a special edition card(s?) for the release of the film, something really special, to get new players involved in the game. SO if the promo item(s) are valuable, or just really that good, people are going to at least give MTG a second look.
I have every bit of faith in this film.
TL;DR - It is coming sooner than later and it will be epic and cater to non MTG players without screwing up the story/lore.
Also, sorry about the long post. I have been watching and talking about this film for a minute AND I am a journalist, so my digging and info sifting abilities are top notch. I cannot tell you where I got some of this stuff from, but I can say it's reliable.
January 5, 2015 6:18 a.m.
DeathChant17 says... #13
Don't apologize for the long post. I've been horribly worried the MTG movie was gonna get f'ed up, as so many movies do, and figured it'd be a similar experience to seeing The Last Airbender. Reading your post, and not having any reason to doubt the credentials you've given yourself, makes me feel so over-joyed I am overcome with a strong urge to hump to your leg.
On the other hand, now that I believe it will be every bit as awesome that I would hope for, I am now super impatient to see it whereas before I was fine waiting. Also I now believe my only disappointment will be the fact I wasn't cast to play Jace.
I also have one question, with the research you've done and your sources, how possible do you think it is that it could be made into a TV series?
January 5, 2015 7:06 a.m.
"On and unrelated note: WotC are also promotional geniuses. I have read very recently that there is going to be a special edition card(s?) for the release of the film, something really special, to get new players involved in the game. SO if the promo item(s) are valuable, or just really that good, people are going to at least give MTG a second look."
Promo foil power 9 with full art, please. "Come watch our movie and pay for your next 27 visits and all your snacks to see it again!"
INFINITE MOVIE COMBO!
January 5, 2015 7:31 a.m.
gnarlicide says... #15
DeathChant17 I am flattered that you would like to hump my leg, but that is not the first time someone has offered to do strange things to my body. A girl once told me that she wanted to have sex with my voice box...
Thats when I decided that I wanted to be a Broadcast Journalist. Or a phone sex operator.
sylvannos, I would be willing to bet that they will hand out promo planeswalkers that may have a role in the film.
Call it a hunch. Besides, it cant be worse than the Box of Bullshit that Cards Against Humanity sold... lol
January 5, 2015 7:56 a.m.
I feel like with as many planeswalkers as there are heading to Zendikar, and how Wizards has a 5 walkers per block policy, The wrap up of the eldrazi crisis may also be done as a movie.
January 5, 2015 8:52 a.m.
MrLizard I was just talking to my buddy Jim about this film the other day, and we both decided it would be super badass if they put eldrazi on the big screen.
''that is not the first time someone has offered to do strange things to my body'' lol, made my morning
January 5, 2015 10:13 a.m.
I go upstairs to grab a coffee and i tell my dad about the movie. He's like ''i dont want to see a movie about some guys, sitting around playing cards''
January 5, 2015 10:26 a.m.
KrosanTusker says... #19
You can reassure him that it is definitely intended to be a movie with mass appeal. Hopefully, the movie will feature a very low greasy nerd count.
January 5, 2015 10:40 a.m.
shinobigarth says... #20
Magic lends itself to being a TV show more than a movie, like an anime or other animated show would be fine, something that could become a long series like DBZ and give time to translate several of the blocks into show form
January 5, 2015 2:48 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #21
Oww99: no I think you're on the right track. I would like it to see it as a TV series instead of a movie. Then they don't have to scrub details for times sake. Although, I think that they should stick to the same lore and not derail from what has/is happening in the actual magic lore. With that said, I would like them to start somewhere in the begining or at least at urza so no preexisting knowledge gets left out for those unfamiliar.
gnarlicide: don't be sorry at all man! You just answered so many questions and made me have more hope for the movie. Thank you for all of that. The only thing I have to say about all of that other than it sounds awesome, is I know some people did not like the special effects in The Hobbit. I don't know if The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit shared the same people, but if they did, there's that. I am really glad Wizards is handling the movie instead of Hasbro. All those movies you mentioned were pretty dissapointing.
I could totally see them handing out promo planeswalkers. To the outside world entering magic, planeswalkers are some of the coolest cards ever. I do hope that the movie isn't based off of two people playing cards and the movie entering the game to bring it to life. I hope they actually set it up like it's actually happening and not just some story being acted out by the game being played.
January 5, 2015 3:44 p.m.
KrosanTusker says... #22
They have, I believe, confirmed that the story is about the lore and worlds of Magic, and not the card game.
January 5, 2015 4:51 p.m.
jandrobard says... #24
To anyone interested, the meadery made a weekly mulligan out of it:
http://themeadery.org/articles/exclusive-new-mtg-movie-entitled-age-of-urza-cast-leaked
January 5, 2015 5:46 p.m.
ClutchWorks says... #26
I can't imagine an MTG TV series based on fanbase, budgetting, and the incline of streaming media. Agents of Shield, for example, plays on all my senses and is an incredible tv production (as compared to green arrow.. which must've spent it's entire budget on flashy cars to make their characters seem rich), but I still didn't make an effort to watch it until it hit Netflix. Hell, maybe it could be a Netflix Original since their productions are usually pretty good for their respective budgets.
That said, I'm afraid of budgetting constraints for the potential movie as well. There have been too many game-to-screen adaptations that fail because of poor production, or vice versa. Don't tell me you all have forgotten about any of the live action Tekken or Streetfighter movies.. The conjectured writers and production staff could definitely do an amazing job with MTG; I just hope they can get paid and make it happen. Does anybody know how big of a production this is supposed to be? The LOTR series was one of the highest cost projects in movie history, and I don't know if I could settle for any less than that if Eldrazi monsters are gonna wreck shit in an MTG movie. I think a good portion of WotC's intent to humanize this game on the big screen is to reach a new market - one typically writing all of us off as being "too nerdy." That's only going to work if they rationalize CGI, relatability, and action. (Side Note: SW Episode 1 was horrible). This doesn't seem like an indy cult-classic success type of scenario. Nonetheless, I'm crossing my fingers on this one..
January 7, 2015 3:13 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #27
agree. in order to do it justice, its gonna have a huge production cost, otherwise it will look bad and therefore not be considered good most likely. thats one reason i was saying they should just make it into an anime/animated show (or movie at least), as that way it can be done a lot cheaper and easier, and would only need voice actors.
January 7, 2015 3:56 p.m.
ClutchWorks says... #30
lol hell.. why not chris evans as ob nix, scar jo as liliana, mark ruffalo as garruk, and chris hemsworth as karn while they're at it?
Just no Renner.. please, no renner..
-Fulcrum says... #2
Same producer as the X-Men franchise. The writer of the first film wrote 5 episodes of Game of Thrones. That may change, writers often do, especially on fringe projects like I imagine this will be.
January 4, 2015 10:53 p.m.