EXCLUSIVE: Noah Gardner & Aidan Fitzgerald have closed a deal to write the live-action Magic: The Gathering movie for Legendary Entertainment and Hasbro Entertainment, sources tell Deadline.
Reps for both Legendary Entertainment and Hasbro Entertainment declined to comment. BlackBerry‘s Matt Johnson was the choice to direct the project as of April, as we were first to tell you, though the status of a deal there is unclear.
Marking Hasbro’s first $1 billion brand, Magic: The Gathering is recognized as the world’s first trading card game, having connected with more than 50 million fans of all ages worldwide since 1993. In the game, players take on the role of planeswalkers, powerful spellcasters who summon creatures, cast spells and use artifacts to defeat their opponents. Over the years, the game has expanded into a global phenomenon, with competitive tournaments, professional play circuits, and a thriving secondary market for rare and powerful cards. The game’s ongoing storyline, set in a multiverse of fantasy worlds, has been expanded through card sets, novels and even crossover collaborations with franchises including Dungeons & Dragons and The Lord of the Rings. Legendary Entertainment and Hasbro Entertainment announced their intention to launch a Magic film and TV universe, kicking off with a feature project, in February.
Previously working with Hasbro as the writers for a Powers Rangers movie, which had Jonathan Entwistle on board to direct but never came to fruition, Gardner and Fitzgerald have also worked on an Aquaman spin-off called The Trench for Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Entertainment, James Wan and Peter Safran, as well as the psychological thriller The Patient for Maximum Effort, Vertigo Entertainment, and 20th Century Studios.
In television, Gardner & Fitzgerald recently wrote Trancers, based on the cult classic sci-fi film, which they sold this to Amazon with Fifth Season as the studio. This was developed with Leigh Whannell and he is attached to direct all episodes, with Brian Kavanaugh Jones and Jon Silk producing.
Gardner & Fitzgerald are repped by WME, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, Northstar, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum.
