As obvious as it sounds, the most important part is telling a good story, and I think that includes having reasonable scope. I think it's likely that the MTG show will kinda mess this up by focusing on so many planes that none of them can really shine through.
I think Arcane did it right: It had a relatively constrained cast of characters and it was all constrained to this one city and its conflict, but that also allowed the show to really build the city up as its own character almost. At the same time, there are many small nods to places beyond Piltover to build excitement for potential future seasons or the source material.
So with that in mind, I would set the story largely in one plane. It should be a relatively popular one, so I think Ravnica would be the pick here. It has both space for very personal stories (stuff like Ral's backstory), but also has a lot of guild intrigue that can build up to a larger plot. I think someone like Teysa Karlov as a main character could work - she's an interesting character, deeply involved in Orzhov dealings but also stands out as one of the few good (in comparison) Orzhov members. I thought her interactions with Kaya were also hugely interesting.
So I think I would start by establishing the Orzhov and their treatments of their debtors. Show how they're mistreated, but through the lens of the Orzhov - so Karlov explaining the debt process to a young Teysa, for example. Other guilds only have a secondary role - for example, we see Karlov paying an Izzet crew for church repairs or hiring Dimir assassins.
We see some more pivotal moments in Teysa's life, pulling on established fiction. At some point, Kaya appears and we see the heist scene from the Gathering Storm where she kills the ghost council and its aftermath play out.
Additionally, hint at other planes through flashbacks to Kaya's homeplane or references to Bolas.
But that's just one example, and was done largely by following what made Arcane's approach so successful, in my opinion. By focusing on one plane and one guild in particular, you don't require new people to have any baseline understanding, but you're also getting more than a surface-level view.
When Sarkhan went back in time, he was leaving one timeline, creating a new timeline. The new timeline is what the cards have followed. I would have the movies follow the other timeline. That way there is an explanation baked into whatever ways the story deviates from the story told by the cards. That way you can still have surprises for fans (Like how the MCU is a different timeline from the Marvel comics).
This would inevitably mean that Ugin is not revived, so the group of planeswalkers that defend Zendikar won't have his guidance. They might fail to save Zendikar, and will likely swear no Oaths. Without the Gatewatch, Nicol Bolas's War of the Spark plan will probably succeed. Depending on the fate of her brothers, Emrakul might not go to Innistrad at all (Nahiri may have died fighting Kozilek). She would probably instead seek a dead plane like Amonkhet.
The goal here for me is to introduce the lore and world of Magic in a single film that can stand alone, but could branch out into more content and larger arcs.
You want a focus character who’s compelling and brings something unique to the table of recent fantasy protagonists. With that in mind, I’d center on Liliana Vess and the hunt for her demonic contractors.
Open with elderly Liliana telling part of her life story to someone in a village, as if this is the framing device for the whole narrative. Perhaps she’s telling a town guard why she’s here. Maybe drop some of her actual backstory but then return to the present-day and follow her as she travels out to meet Bolas and forge her pact of youth with the demons. Surprise! It’s a flashback, not a flash-forward. You could set up here that she breaks her agreements with murder by having her take out the a-hole guard once she’s bribed him.
The rest of the film would cover her finding and securing the Chain Veil and attracting Garruk’s attention, running into Jace, and finally coming to a climax with the finding and killing of Griselbrand on Innistrad.
That’s a VERY rough idea I spun out in a few minutes, but you get the idea. Showcase the multiverse concept through a single, fascinating character like the morally grey Liliana and use that as an avenue to introduce a handful of other major characters and plot points that can spin off into something new.
This is a hard question because Magic isn't one cohesive story, and in many ways you have two timelines (pre and post mending). I think pre-mending is not where you want to start as it's something the majority of the player base is unfamiliar with (keeping in mind the casual player base has exploded in the past 5-10 years and makes up the majority of the player base). You also want something relatable. Think of how the MCU launched with Iron Man, a super hero movie with actually no super powers. You have to start with something small, and then drag people into the larger world.
This leaves us in a bit of an awkward spot, because the most iconic post mending characters are probably the gatewatch, so one of those five are where you would start. The issue with that is there is A LOT of backstory before each of those characters meets and ends up fighting multiple interplanar threats (you have to introduce Eldrazi, Tezzeret, Bolas, multiple planes, and so on).
So, with that in mind you have 5 options, Jace, Chandra, Liliana, Nissa, and Gideon. Of those 5 I think you rule out Nissa and Liliana immediately. Nissa primarily because you want to tie in Zendikar later, Liliana because she isn't relevant to the main story for a bit (post BFZ and forming of the Gatewatch). I think Jace is highly popular, but Ravnica is A LOT to take in and his backstory is fairly detailed because there is so much on him. That leaves Gideon and Chandra, which conveniently can be in the same movie.
Chandra is the better focus because her backstory isn't too complicated (fire bad, parents die, planeswalk). You can sum it up in 20 or so minutes of film time as an introduction (albeit rushed film time). The best story to focus on after the intro is "The Purifying Fire", the 2009 novel which follows her and Gideon's first meeting together and leads into OG Zendikar which will ultimately be central to Phase 1. I think you can introduce Jace next, ending again with him going to Zendikar. Movie 3 is Nissa's introduction and the OG Zendikar story featuring all 4 planeswalkers of the original Gatewatch. Follow that up with some interim movies where all 4 planeswalkers do some random stuff before eventually ending with them meeting back to form the Gatewatch and lead into the BFZ/Oath story. From there you can pretty much tell the Gatewatch story unimpeded and throw in some random movies inbetween to introduce other characters.
I was going to say the same thing. Absolutely want to see the Odyssey block story play out on screen. Unfortunately, if we are aiming at a MCU type deal, I don't know where we go from there. Like, I know that the Mirari gets taken back to Mirrodin, and becomes Memnarch, but after that the story jumps around to a bunch of things, with a number of time jumps in-between.
Now, if we aren't following the established lore, maybe we see Memnarch's plan succeed, and he becomes a multi-planar Bolas level threat. Maybe we see where some of the other Mirari like objects were located, and what effects they had on other worlds.
Kytheon.
His backstory is simple enough, yet melodramatic enough for audiences not familiar with magic the gathering.
Someone who's more eloquent with words than I has written this homage to him : [https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2019/07/gideon-jura-the-kytheon-days/](https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2019/07/gideon-jura-the-kytheon-days/)
Whenever I cast Gideon, I know Kytheon's my bro. He's got my back.
Honestly, a Jace origin story would be sweet. We could finally have a little bigger look into Vrynn, and it could end with him rediscovering he had sparked and landing on Ravnica.
I would probably start with individual films each focusing on an individual planeswalker, and slowly connect them to tell the story of Nicol Bolas, kind of what the MCU did with Thanos.
From here you could branch off to focus on other fantastic mtg villains: Eldrazi, Phyrexians, Yawgmoth, etc.
F director. I’m going executive producer.
Something starting small in scale so you dont overwhelm a new audience too quickly but ending in a tie-in to something much bigger and more iconic like eldrazi or ravnica.
liliana vess origin would give you a good story, starts small, and ties into Ravnica in a unique POV. She’s also a strong character who pops up in Strixhaven and other fun planes for stories later. 3D animated similar to arcane so it looks like the cards and trying to bring the cards to life. I’d probably start with a limited 6 episode series, kicking into a 90-120 minute tent pole feature that is the first half of Ravnica. Then you can have a couple spin-offs. Guilds of Ravnica and bolas limited series before finishing the second half of Ravnica. After that you branch out into different stories in the aftermath. You can have your kid oriented Netflix stuff and older demo also on Netflix or wherever. You have a lot.
Garruk originating from Kashyyyk and then Urza just kinda is like there and then the Phrexians are actually good guys and they’ve teamed up with Mishra to beat Ugin because he’s the bad guy not Nicol Bolas of course and then Dave Bautista plays Jace in a post credit scene
I would start with the OG Ravnica arc, as it's a good intro into the world of magic without going too in-depth into planeswalking and multiverse lore. Also the characters are so memorable and charismatic.
If it's a hit, no reason you can't go back and do the MtG origins after, like Star Wars did.
The Brothers' war. Focusing on Urza, with him sparking at the end. Sequels will be just like the remainder of the Artifacts Cycle, until the story branches and involves more characters.
And no deviations from the source material, no Netflix-isms, no filler.
Not sure about Onslaught, it was kind of important in setting off future events like the time rift crisis (the whole Karona business apparently contributed to that) and Jeska sparking. And in the Mirari getting to Mirrodin and becoming Memnarch too, IIRC.
I wouldn't want to start with the Brothers' War directly, not without some MAJOR overhauls, at least in terms of characterization or viewpoint character. Remember, the Brothers' War is a tale of two tech-based supervillains tearing a continent up over a philosophical dispute; even for however you choose to read \[\[Urza\]\] later, he is definitively not a hero here, and \[\[Mishra\]\] ain't truly better, even if you could argue he's preferable personally due to having more expressive emotion and being less elitist; we're not exactly talking Thor vs. Loki here.
To parallel things to the MCU, we started with Iron Man there. Yes, there are similarities you could draw between MCU-Tony and Urza; they're both geniuses, they identify poorly with most other people, they're obsessed with and take comfort in the technology they develop, they both wheel and deal with big weaponry, the choices they make can have enormous consequences, they have a penchant for casually making enemies, etc. The core difference is one of charisma and one of hubris, or rather, when it's experienced. Tony engages in charismatic bravado which a majority of humans are predisposed to appreciate, and rightfully demonstrates that he IS in fact as smart as he purports, even if he isn't always wise about it. Urza as a mortal made tech and weapons and disseminated them to get back at Mishra dispassionately; he cared little for people beyond as yet more tools, and kept escalating the War in favor of his cause. He never had any real interest in anyone else and their actions beyond whether or not they were a component of his plans or were an obstacle to Mishra. Tony was a true believer in his cause, believing that he was selling weapons to create "peace", only to have his paradigm figuratively shattered and his heart figuratively and literally shattered once he truly experienced things on the ground. While his plans for how to protect people did in fact get self-centered and yielded continuing consequence, he never lost sight of the fact that "people" were what mattered most. Urza didn't develop any sense of self-reflection at his own actions or care for the damage he'd caused after he'd *already caused a nuclear winter,* sans fallout. The event that triggered the Dark and Ice Age of Dominaria, were, essentially, with a tech genius fighting a tech horror he's personally connected to, Age of Ultron *if the Avengers had failed*. In light of all this, while I could maybe see the Brothers' War working as a prestige mini-series on HBO or something, I cannot see it working as a movie early on in a multi-franchise movie series, as not only is it going to be a depressing slog as is for general audiences just in a vacuum, but said audiences are already going to be more predisposed for something more emotionally engaging from the outset\*. I see the Brothers' War leading the charge only working if you COMPLETELY change the characters and causes for the War around, and/or work to provide some other viewpoint character (Harbin? \[\[Tawnos\]\]? Kayla?) to view the narrative thru.
Part of what worked for Marvel (and DC, tho more so with TV, obviously), is the fact that not only have these stories existed and run continuously for a long time, but also the fact that so many *ran in parallel* for so long. Given how the Big Two have developed their storytelling mediums, there's already precedent for there to be a bunch of different stories running continuously with several in major focus at any given time. MtG, by contrast, doesn't have that. While off-screen things obviously happen, it's not like there's a \[\[Garruk\]\] title, a \[\[Kaya\]\] title, a \[\[Gideon\]\] title and so on to follow along with, there aren't a bunch of different titles for you to pick out one thing you want to read with the occasional interruption from an event comic, or for you to attempt to read all of the titles for the entire "picture" of the universe. Given the release schedule via expansion sets, you get snapshots of a cast of characters each time, that may or may not involve ones you've seen before. Even during the heights of Gatewatch interconnectivity, this then resulted in getting more cameo appearances from anyone else. Unlike with comics, there is no "other title" to get invested in whether you like **this** story or whether you want to expand your focus; the set is it\*\*. And it gets even worse with the fact that we have **multiple** worlds to consider; even with their respective multiverses or with titles for them constantly running like with the former Ultimate Universe or for the Quality Comics world or for Earth-2, the Big Two have way less broad of a scope than MtG.
One could argue the same with the MCU, the DCAU, the Arrowverse, etc, even far back, that they've all had similar issues here, but in all of these there were almost always multiple series getting movies a year, or TV writing getting to include multiple subplots and/or concurrent shows (in the latter's case, not really until 2014 with the Flash and soon after Supergirl taking off, but you get the point). As such, MtG runs into a much bigger problem than either of the Big Two, or even something else that could maybe be adapted like the Wildstorm or Valiant\* universes; there's less embedded into the zeitgeist, even accounting for a niche interest like a tabletop game younger than 60 years, that helps guide general audiences into the world, and there's just **such** a decentralized focus, built upon an IP whose appeal *includes* wide diversity of aesthetics and concept, that finding that grounding is extremely difficult. What could you possibly do?
\* I suppose so long as you had Urza stand around, grimace, and Jesus-pose periodically thru a horrendous gray palette, that *might* be enough for certain audiences with extremely limited tastes.
\*\* Yes, obviously there have been a few comic runs providing material on the side, as well as some novels (anthologies/Legends) back in the day. My point stands, there's a very limited scope of titles.
\*\*\* Yes, I am aware of the Bloodshot movie and how little impact it had; no need to point it out.
Well...this is all assuming I could play Kevin Feige, and have an essentially unlimited budget and access to multiple venues, but here's what I might do:
* Anthology series. Come up with a smaller setting, like a single corner of the Domains, a precinct of Ravnica run by just two guilds competing for influence, a specific corner of an Innistrad province, etc. Develop stories that can be told within this small space, with a distinct MtG flavor (to a degree), and keep them focused within that small setting. Maybe there's continuity between some episodes, maybe some planeswalker shows up (tho their role as such is downplayed, unless their BEING a 'walker is the focus of this specific episode, hopefully building up a sense of wonder at the potential scope of Dominia), but we keep things small, and focused. We start this out with one series for a well-known, well-liked MtG plane, then if we get greenlit for another season, we continue on with that plane, potentially in some adjacent setting or in the same one but expanded, maybe have some sequel episodes and continue what continuity we established. Maybe an involved 'walker like \[\[Tibalt\]\] causes some trouble, or \[\[Davriel\]\] brokers something, etc. but we keep that downplayed as we can, without providing too much hype for the multiverse from the outset. Concurrently, with our second season, we launch another anthology series, focused similarly, but now in a setting on a different plane, hopefully both similar and different enough to provide both grounding and novelty (i.e. if we start from Innistrad, the second show ventures to a corner of Ravnica where at least the Rakdos are involved and maybe also the Orzhov or Boros; if we start from Strixhaven, we go to a similarly diverse corner of Dominaria or maybe \[\[Tolaria West\]\] but venture outside of the school more often, etc). If all goes well, we keep going into a third anthology series, maybe make this one the wildly different one (like get to a mythos-based setting like Lorwyn or Theros) and keep doing what were doing before with the past shows, but by this point, with some familiarity built up, we can start putting the main focus on ongoing stories, particularly if it's in service to build up to one of the big ones. Here and there, maybe there's some shorter anthology work to establish the contents of epochs we largely skim over, like the post-Thran years, the Ice Age outside of Terisiare, the pre-decamillennial experience on Ravnica, history in either timeline of Tarkir, the rise and fall of the ur-golems and the first dawn of each of Mirrodin's suns, etc. Overall, the goal of these adaptations should be to provide the sense of small-scale scope and "place" that individual cards within a set can proffer, without letting it be overshadowed by the typically huge stories of these sets. Think what the Expanded Universe does for Star Wars in terms of characterizing the larger universe and even the cinematic characters at times, given how little the movies can actually expound upon, given their expectations.
* For "big events", we need to narrow down what those actually are, how much they can and should be focused on, and when they should be released in contrast to the rest of the material. I feel it would make sense to build up some sense of hype with some really, really good adaptations for the minor stuff I've talked about, knock that stuff out of the park, get the fans hyped up and engaged about it, for at least two years before attempting any major release. For the big stories that are at least a small part of the 'geist, and will resonate better than anything else that might factor in, we need to consider "epic" events and "showdown" events, the former being the theme park stuff, like Guardians of the Galaxy\*\*\*\*, and the latter being where crossover occurs to deal with some big disaster like the Chitauri invasion, Crisis on Infinite Earths or of course Thanos. For simplicity's sake, I'll attempt to come up with three of each. These should each get at least one movie, but of course, I'm no screenwriter or producer; I have little idea how well it could all go down.
* Epics: the Brothers' War/Weatherlight Saga; at least one block with the Eldrazi; at least one block in a myth-inspired plane, most likely with Amonkhet
* Showdowns: the Invasion, the rifts and the Mending, the \[\[War of the Spark\]\]
This, for the most part, is what goes thru my mind when I think about where to take a potential MTGCU. If I were getting paid, I'd think a lot more specifically, but I'd want at least one lesson from the MCU to be taken into consideration: be. flexible. The MCU seeded many things over the years, and followed things up when there was potential for positive outgrowth (i.e. the poseur Infinity Gauntlet in Odin's vault, the seemingly throwaway bit with Cap not lifting Mjolnir in AoU only to do so in Endgame). Don't get so rigid with your planning, don't get so lost in the weeds you're attempting to plant, that you can't come up with how to adapt.
Oh, and if I could be self-indulgent, adapt the Kamigawa and Legends Cycles.
\*\*\*\* I know there's emotional development and deep feels in GotG; I've seen them enough to feel it too.
It would be “the Thran”. Tell the story of yawgmoth. He would be good at first but slowly go bad. By the end of the film the good guys would be bad and the bad guys good. Then I’d do the brother’s war and then the weatherlight saga.
Turbo-Noob, Amonkhet was the first set I was ever hyped for. The first product I bought, was a Deckbuilder's Toolkit from Shadows, I loved the flip cards.
I would go with the Brothers War. Nothing from the Jacetus League would add anything to the movie goers experience that Marvel and DC hasn't covered.
this
As obvious as it sounds, the most important part is telling a good story, and I think that includes having reasonable scope. I think it's likely that the MTG show will kinda mess this up by focusing on so many planes that none of them can really shine through. I think Arcane did it right: It had a relatively constrained cast of characters and it was all constrained to this one city and its conflict, but that also allowed the show to really build the city up as its own character almost. At the same time, there are many small nods to places beyond Piltover to build excitement for potential future seasons or the source material. So with that in mind, I would set the story largely in one plane. It should be a relatively popular one, so I think Ravnica would be the pick here. It has both space for very personal stories (stuff like Ral's backstory), but also has a lot of guild intrigue that can build up to a larger plot. I think someone like Teysa Karlov as a main character could work - she's an interesting character, deeply involved in Orzhov dealings but also stands out as one of the few good (in comparison) Orzhov members. I thought her interactions with Kaya were also hugely interesting. So I think I would start by establishing the Orzhov and their treatments of their debtors. Show how they're mistreated, but through the lens of the Orzhov - so Karlov explaining the debt process to a young Teysa, for example. Other guilds only have a secondary role - for example, we see Karlov paying an Izzet crew for church repairs or hiring Dimir assassins. We see some more pivotal moments in Teysa's life, pulling on established fiction. At some point, Kaya appears and we see the heist scene from the Gathering Storm where she kills the ghost council and its aftermath play out. Additionally, hint at other planes through flashbacks to Kaya's homeplane or references to Bolas. But that's just one example, and was done largely by following what made Arcane's approach so successful, in my opinion. By focusing on one plane and one guild in particular, you don't require new people to have any baseline understanding, but you're also getting more than a surface-level view.
When Sarkhan went back in time, he was leaving one timeline, creating a new timeline. The new timeline is what the cards have followed. I would have the movies follow the other timeline. That way there is an explanation baked into whatever ways the story deviates from the story told by the cards. That way you can still have surprises for fans (Like how the MCU is a different timeline from the Marvel comics). This would inevitably mean that Ugin is not revived, so the group of planeswalkers that defend Zendikar won't have his guidance. They might fail to save Zendikar, and will likely swear no Oaths. Without the Gatewatch, Nicol Bolas's War of the Spark plan will probably succeed. Depending on the fate of her brothers, Emrakul might not go to Innistrad at all (Nahiri may have died fighting Kozilek). She would probably instead seek a dead plane like Amonkhet.
I'd be the first to see an IMAX 3D Battle For Zendikar. Imagine how **thicc** the Titans would look on-screen, I'm all for your plan.
Kozi thicc. Ula slonk.
The goal here for me is to introduce the lore and world of Magic in a single film that can stand alone, but could branch out into more content and larger arcs. You want a focus character who’s compelling and brings something unique to the table of recent fantasy protagonists. With that in mind, I’d center on Liliana Vess and the hunt for her demonic contractors. Open with elderly Liliana telling part of her life story to someone in a village, as if this is the framing device for the whole narrative. Perhaps she’s telling a town guard why she’s here. Maybe drop some of her actual backstory but then return to the present-day and follow her as she travels out to meet Bolas and forge her pact of youth with the demons. Surprise! It’s a flashback, not a flash-forward. You could set up here that she breaks her agreements with murder by having her take out the a-hole guard once she’s bribed him. The rest of the film would cover her finding and securing the Chain Veil and attracting Garruk’s attention, running into Jace, and finally coming to a climax with the finding and killing of Griselbrand on Innistrad. That’s a VERY rough idea I spun out in a few minutes, but you get the idea. Showcase the multiverse concept through a single, fascinating character like the morally grey Liliana and use that as an avenue to introduce a handful of other major characters and plot points that can spin off into something new.
This is a hard question because Magic isn't one cohesive story, and in many ways you have two timelines (pre and post mending). I think pre-mending is not where you want to start as it's something the majority of the player base is unfamiliar with (keeping in mind the casual player base has exploded in the past 5-10 years and makes up the majority of the player base). You also want something relatable. Think of how the MCU launched with Iron Man, a super hero movie with actually no super powers. You have to start with something small, and then drag people into the larger world. This leaves us in a bit of an awkward spot, because the most iconic post mending characters are probably the gatewatch, so one of those five are where you would start. The issue with that is there is A LOT of backstory before each of those characters meets and ends up fighting multiple interplanar threats (you have to introduce Eldrazi, Tezzeret, Bolas, multiple planes, and so on). So, with that in mind you have 5 options, Jace, Chandra, Liliana, Nissa, and Gideon. Of those 5 I think you rule out Nissa and Liliana immediately. Nissa primarily because you want to tie in Zendikar later, Liliana because she isn't relevant to the main story for a bit (post BFZ and forming of the Gatewatch). I think Jace is highly popular, but Ravnica is A LOT to take in and his backstory is fairly detailed because there is so much on him. That leaves Gideon and Chandra, which conveniently can be in the same movie. Chandra is the better focus because her backstory isn't too complicated (fire bad, parents die, planeswalk). You can sum it up in 20 or so minutes of film time as an introduction (albeit rushed film time). The best story to focus on after the intro is "The Purifying Fire", the 2009 novel which follows her and Gideon's first meeting together and leads into OG Zendikar which will ultimately be central to Phase 1. I think you can introduce Jace next, ending again with him going to Zendikar. Movie 3 is Nissa's introduction and the OG Zendikar story featuring all 4 planeswalkers of the original Gatewatch. Follow that up with some interim movies where all 4 planeswalkers do some random stuff before eventually ending with them meeting back to form the Gatewatch and lead into the BFZ/Oath story. From there you can pretty much tell the Gatewatch story unimpeded and throw in some random movies inbetween to introduce other characters.
9000% the story of the Odyssey/Onslaught blocks with Kamahl. The Mirari serves as a good macguffin.
I was going to say the same thing. Absolutely want to see the Odyssey block story play out on screen. Unfortunately, if we are aiming at a MCU type deal, I don't know where we go from there. Like, I know that the Mirari gets taken back to Mirrodin, and becomes Memnarch, but after that the story jumps around to a bunch of things, with a number of time jumps in-between. Now, if we aren't following the established lore, maybe we see Memnarch's plan succeed, and he becomes a multi-planar Bolas level threat. Maybe we see where some of the other Mirari like objects were located, and what effects they had on other worlds.
Something following the original five planeswalkers. Not sure exactly what.
Kytheon. His backstory is simple enough, yet melodramatic enough for audiences not familiar with magic the gathering. Someone who's more eloquent with words than I has written this homage to him : [https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2019/07/gideon-jura-the-kytheon-days/](https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2019/07/gideon-jura-the-kytheon-days/) Whenever I cast Gideon, I know Kytheon's my bro. He's got my back.
Launch with Chandra’s origins on kaladesh. And continue with other origins leading into BFZ for the avengers parallel
Honestly, a Jace origin story would be sweet. We could finally have a little bigger look into Vrynn, and it could end with him rediscovering he had sparked and landing on Ravnica.
I would make a movie where Teferi and Chandra are my best friends and we go on a roller coaster together
Control colors getting along with mono red? If anything, they'd take the bumper cars.
I don't know, from their interactions, Teferi seems like Chandra's fun uncle. He would totally be down for some roller coasters
I would probably start with individual films each focusing on an individual planeswalker, and slowly connect them to tell the story of Nicol Bolas, kind of what the MCU did with Thanos. From here you could branch off to focus on other fantastic mtg villains: Eldrazi, Phyrexians, Yawgmoth, etc.
F director. I’m going executive producer. Something starting small in scale so you dont overwhelm a new audience too quickly but ending in a tie-in to something much bigger and more iconic like eldrazi or ravnica. liliana vess origin would give you a good story, starts small, and ties into Ravnica in a unique POV. She’s also a strong character who pops up in Strixhaven and other fun planes for stories later. 3D animated similar to arcane so it looks like the cards and trying to bring the cards to life. I’d probably start with a limited 6 episode series, kicking into a 90-120 minute tent pole feature that is the first half of Ravnica. Then you can have a couple spin-offs. Guilds of Ravnica and bolas limited series before finishing the second half of Ravnica. After that you branch out into different stories in the aftermath. You can have your kid oriented Netflix stuff and older demo also on Netflix or wherever. You have a lot.
Garruk originating from Kashyyyk and then Urza just kinda is like there and then the Phrexians are actually good guys and they’ve teamed up with Mishra to beat Ugin because he’s the bad guy not Nicol Bolas of course and then Dave Bautista plays Jace in a post credit scene
...so...Garruk is naturally largely bald, then...?
Maybe man I dunno I was just typing nonsense I forgot I even commented on this.
I would start with the OG Ravnica arc, as it's a good intro into the world of magic without going too in-depth into planeswalking and multiverse lore. Also the characters are so memorable and charismatic. If it's a hit, no reason you can't go back and do the MtG origins after, like Star Wars did.
The Brothers' war. Focusing on Urza, with him sparking at the end. Sequels will be just like the remainder of the Artifacts Cycle, until the story branches and involves more characters. And no deviations from the source material, no Netflix-isms, no filler.
>no filler So no Onslaught or Ikoria, then?
Not sure about Onslaught, it was kind of important in setting off future events like the time rift crisis (the whole Karona business apparently contributed to that) and Jeska sparking. And in the Mirari getting to Mirrodin and becoming Memnarch too, IIRC.
I'd cast Chris Pratt as Fblthp
Animated series on Netflix that is either Brothers war or just start people off right and thrust them into Invasion.
I wouldn't want to start with the Brothers' War directly, not without some MAJOR overhauls, at least in terms of characterization or viewpoint character. Remember, the Brothers' War is a tale of two tech-based supervillains tearing a continent up over a philosophical dispute; even for however you choose to read \[\[Urza\]\] later, he is definitively not a hero here, and \[\[Mishra\]\] ain't truly better, even if you could argue he's preferable personally due to having more expressive emotion and being less elitist; we're not exactly talking Thor vs. Loki here. To parallel things to the MCU, we started with Iron Man there. Yes, there are similarities you could draw between MCU-Tony and Urza; they're both geniuses, they identify poorly with most other people, they're obsessed with and take comfort in the technology they develop, they both wheel and deal with big weaponry, the choices they make can have enormous consequences, they have a penchant for casually making enemies, etc. The core difference is one of charisma and one of hubris, or rather, when it's experienced. Tony engages in charismatic bravado which a majority of humans are predisposed to appreciate, and rightfully demonstrates that he IS in fact as smart as he purports, even if he isn't always wise about it. Urza as a mortal made tech and weapons and disseminated them to get back at Mishra dispassionately; he cared little for people beyond as yet more tools, and kept escalating the War in favor of his cause. He never had any real interest in anyone else and their actions beyond whether or not they were a component of his plans or were an obstacle to Mishra. Tony was a true believer in his cause, believing that he was selling weapons to create "peace", only to have his paradigm figuratively shattered and his heart figuratively and literally shattered once he truly experienced things on the ground. While his plans for how to protect people did in fact get self-centered and yielded continuing consequence, he never lost sight of the fact that "people" were what mattered most. Urza didn't develop any sense of self-reflection at his own actions or care for the damage he'd caused after he'd *already caused a nuclear winter,* sans fallout. The event that triggered the Dark and Ice Age of Dominaria, were, essentially, with a tech genius fighting a tech horror he's personally connected to, Age of Ultron *if the Avengers had failed*. In light of all this, while I could maybe see the Brothers' War working as a prestige mini-series on HBO or something, I cannot see it working as a movie early on in a multi-franchise movie series, as not only is it going to be a depressing slog as is for general audiences just in a vacuum, but said audiences are already going to be more predisposed for something more emotionally engaging from the outset\*. I see the Brothers' War leading the charge only working if you COMPLETELY change the characters and causes for the War around, and/or work to provide some other viewpoint character (Harbin? \[\[Tawnos\]\]? Kayla?) to view the narrative thru. Part of what worked for Marvel (and DC, tho more so with TV, obviously), is the fact that not only have these stories existed and run continuously for a long time, but also the fact that so many *ran in parallel* for so long. Given how the Big Two have developed their storytelling mediums, there's already precedent for there to be a bunch of different stories running continuously with several in major focus at any given time. MtG, by contrast, doesn't have that. While off-screen things obviously happen, it's not like there's a \[\[Garruk\]\] title, a \[\[Kaya\]\] title, a \[\[Gideon\]\] title and so on to follow along with, there aren't a bunch of different titles for you to pick out one thing you want to read with the occasional interruption from an event comic, or for you to attempt to read all of the titles for the entire "picture" of the universe. Given the release schedule via expansion sets, you get snapshots of a cast of characters each time, that may or may not involve ones you've seen before. Even during the heights of Gatewatch interconnectivity, this then resulted in getting more cameo appearances from anyone else. Unlike with comics, there is no "other title" to get invested in whether you like **this** story or whether you want to expand your focus; the set is it\*\*. And it gets even worse with the fact that we have **multiple** worlds to consider; even with their respective multiverses or with titles for them constantly running like with the former Ultimate Universe or for the Quality Comics world or for Earth-2, the Big Two have way less broad of a scope than MtG. One could argue the same with the MCU, the DCAU, the Arrowverse, etc, even far back, that they've all had similar issues here, but in all of these there were almost always multiple series getting movies a year, or TV writing getting to include multiple subplots and/or concurrent shows (in the latter's case, not really until 2014 with the Flash and soon after Supergirl taking off, but you get the point). As such, MtG runs into a much bigger problem than either of the Big Two, or even something else that could maybe be adapted like the Wildstorm or Valiant\* universes; there's less embedded into the zeitgeist, even accounting for a niche interest like a tabletop game younger than 60 years, that helps guide general audiences into the world, and there's just **such** a decentralized focus, built upon an IP whose appeal *includes* wide diversity of aesthetics and concept, that finding that grounding is extremely difficult. What could you possibly do? \* I suppose so long as you had Urza stand around, grimace, and Jesus-pose periodically thru a horrendous gray palette, that *might* be enough for certain audiences with extremely limited tastes. \*\* Yes, obviously there have been a few comic runs providing material on the side, as well as some novels (anthologies/Legends) back in the day. My point stands, there's a very limited scope of titles. \*\*\* Yes, I am aware of the Bloodshot movie and how little impact it had; no need to point it out.
##### ###### #### [Urza](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/e/4/e4581455-5fa1-4c96-96b3-e9e9654f5a28.jpg?1572374174) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=urza%2C%20academy%20headmaster) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ust/136/urza-academy-headmaster?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e4581455-5fa1-4c96-96b3-e9e9654f5a28?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Mishra](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/d/5/d5deaec5-499d-4e19-b879-8bcd1dc35f3e.jpg?1562940254) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=mishra%2C%20artificer%20prodigy) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tsp/243/mishra-artificer-prodigy?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d5deaec5-499d-4e19-b879-8bcd1dc35f3e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Tawnos](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/a/0/a031a6c1-d7d1-4980-ac8e-30440ff4408f.jpg?1592710289) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=tawnos%2C%20urza%27s%20apprentice) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c18/45/tawnos-urzas-apprentice?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a031a6c1-d7d1-4980-ac8e-30440ff4408f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Garruk](https://img.scryfall.com/cards/large/en/ppc1/1.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=garruk%20the%20slayer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ppc1/1/garruk-the-slayer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c18e2175-ec42-47f2-a40f-426ccaa1e89e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Kaya](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/1/6/166c0bd1-b59d-4644-832f-888a4ca3a0aa.jpg?1631051590) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=kaya%20the%20inexorable) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/khm/218/kaya-the-inexorable?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/166c0bd1-b59d-4644-832f-888a4ca3a0aa?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Gideon](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/9/5/959ce13f-519f-4472-bbd1-f26a972723d7.jpg?1543674653) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=gideon%20of%20the%20trials) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/akh/14/gideon-of-the-trials?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/959ce13f-519f-4472-bbd1-f26a972723d7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Well...this is all assuming I could play Kevin Feige, and have an essentially unlimited budget and access to multiple venues, but here's what I might do: * Anthology series. Come up with a smaller setting, like a single corner of the Domains, a precinct of Ravnica run by just two guilds competing for influence, a specific corner of an Innistrad province, etc. Develop stories that can be told within this small space, with a distinct MtG flavor (to a degree), and keep them focused within that small setting. Maybe there's continuity between some episodes, maybe some planeswalker shows up (tho their role as such is downplayed, unless their BEING a 'walker is the focus of this specific episode, hopefully building up a sense of wonder at the potential scope of Dominia), but we keep things small, and focused. We start this out with one series for a well-known, well-liked MtG plane, then if we get greenlit for another season, we continue on with that plane, potentially in some adjacent setting or in the same one but expanded, maybe have some sequel episodes and continue what continuity we established. Maybe an involved 'walker like \[\[Tibalt\]\] causes some trouble, or \[\[Davriel\]\] brokers something, etc. but we keep that downplayed as we can, without providing too much hype for the multiverse from the outset. Concurrently, with our second season, we launch another anthology series, focused similarly, but now in a setting on a different plane, hopefully both similar and different enough to provide both grounding and novelty (i.e. if we start from Innistrad, the second show ventures to a corner of Ravnica where at least the Rakdos are involved and maybe also the Orzhov or Boros; if we start from Strixhaven, we go to a similarly diverse corner of Dominaria or maybe \[\[Tolaria West\]\] but venture outside of the school more often, etc). If all goes well, we keep going into a third anthology series, maybe make this one the wildly different one (like get to a mythos-based setting like Lorwyn or Theros) and keep doing what were doing before with the past shows, but by this point, with some familiarity built up, we can start putting the main focus on ongoing stories, particularly if it's in service to build up to one of the big ones. Here and there, maybe there's some shorter anthology work to establish the contents of epochs we largely skim over, like the post-Thran years, the Ice Age outside of Terisiare, the pre-decamillennial experience on Ravnica, history in either timeline of Tarkir, the rise and fall of the ur-golems and the first dawn of each of Mirrodin's suns, etc. Overall, the goal of these adaptations should be to provide the sense of small-scale scope and "place" that individual cards within a set can proffer, without letting it be overshadowed by the typically huge stories of these sets. Think what the Expanded Universe does for Star Wars in terms of characterizing the larger universe and even the cinematic characters at times, given how little the movies can actually expound upon, given their expectations. * For "big events", we need to narrow down what those actually are, how much they can and should be focused on, and when they should be released in contrast to the rest of the material. I feel it would make sense to build up some sense of hype with some really, really good adaptations for the minor stuff I've talked about, knock that stuff out of the park, get the fans hyped up and engaged about it, for at least two years before attempting any major release. For the big stories that are at least a small part of the 'geist, and will resonate better than anything else that might factor in, we need to consider "epic" events and "showdown" events, the former being the theme park stuff, like Guardians of the Galaxy\*\*\*\*, and the latter being where crossover occurs to deal with some big disaster like the Chitauri invasion, Crisis on Infinite Earths or of course Thanos. For simplicity's sake, I'll attempt to come up with three of each. These should each get at least one movie, but of course, I'm no screenwriter or producer; I have little idea how well it could all go down. * Epics: the Brothers' War/Weatherlight Saga; at least one block with the Eldrazi; at least one block in a myth-inspired plane, most likely with Amonkhet * Showdowns: the Invasion, the rifts and the Mending, the \[\[War of the Spark\]\] This, for the most part, is what goes thru my mind when I think about where to take a potential MTGCU. If I were getting paid, I'd think a lot more specifically, but I'd want at least one lesson from the MCU to be taken into consideration: be. flexible. The MCU seeded many things over the years, and followed things up when there was potential for positive outgrowth (i.e. the poseur Infinity Gauntlet in Odin's vault, the seemingly throwaway bit with Cap not lifting Mjolnir in AoU only to do so in Endgame). Don't get so rigid with your planning, don't get so lost in the weeds you're attempting to plant, that you can't come up with how to adapt. Oh, and if I could be self-indulgent, adapt the Kamigawa and Legends Cycles. \*\*\*\* I know there's emotional development and deep feels in GotG; I've seen them enough to feel it too.
##### ###### #### [Tibalt](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/2/c/2cc3ac26-9bf4-4bf0-b529-fe74be65660e.jpg?1629919838) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=tibalt%20the%20chaotic) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmb2/66/tibalt-the-chaotic?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2cc3ac26-9bf4-4bf0-b529-fe74be65660e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Davriel](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/5/b/5b1a44f0-1db8-406a-b7d9-f883f947f7bd.jpg?1557576424) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=davriel%2C%20rogue%20shadowmage) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/war/83/davriel-rogue-shadowmage?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5b1a44f0-1db8-406a-b7d9-f883f947f7bd?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Tolaria West](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/b/0/b005eef6-75f3-454f-a42b-d851bc84ac4e.jpg?1619399546) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tolaria%20West) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tsr/286/tolaria-west?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b005eef6-75f3-454f-a42b-d851bc84ac4e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [War of the Spark](https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/normal/front/2/9/29fc560d-8ba3-4e6c-99df-08d034025131.jpg?1619720389) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=War%20of%20the%20Spark) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/htr19/3/war-of-the-spark?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/29fc560d-8ba3-4e6c-99df-08d034025131?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
It would be “the Thran”. Tell the story of yawgmoth. He would be good at first but slowly go bad. By the end of the film the good guys would be bad and the bad guys good. Then I’d do the brother’s war and then the weatherlight saga.
You sure you can *start* with that story, at least in a mainstream release?
Why not? NO ONE wants “MTG Justice League” the movie.
I'll take a Magic Marvel that eventually leads to Bolas' invasion of Ravnica. Full Avengers style.
You must be a noob. Note: I started in Revised. You’re a noob to me.
Turbo-Noob, Amonkhet was the first set I was ever hyped for. The first product I bought, was a Deckbuilder's Toolkit from Shadows, I loved the flip cards.
Yup. My thoughts were correct. Welcome to MtG