The Russos have put down their cards and will move on to another project as the filmmakers have exited the upcoming Magic The Gathering series at Netflix.
Deadline reports that the Avengers: Endgame directors will no longer be involved with the animated series, with executive producer Jeff Kline set to head a new creative team. Sources close to Deadline notes that The Russos met with Kline and the split was “amicable.”
“I’m grateful to the Russos for bringing me into the world of Magic: The Gathering – specifically, over dinner at one of their go-to Cleveland restaurants,” said Kline. “Magic is one of those rare intellectual properties with such a wellspring of mythology that “picking and choosing” is half the battle. Every single person working on the series understands how beloved this universe is – and feels both the exhilaration and tremendous pressure that comes with translating Magic across mediums.”
Netflix and Wizards of the Coast, the company behind the tabletop card game, also released a statement which reads: “While the Russo Brothers are no longer part of the animated series, their passion for the game combined with their early creative perspective and input helped us to shape the project to a place where we believe fans of the game and those new to the ‘Gathering Universe’ will enjoy the series and discover what millions of fans around the globe have known for the past 25 years.”
As well as Jeff Kline taking over as the creative head, the animation for the series will now be done by Snowball Studios, which will be taking over from the originally announced Bardel Studio.
