Netflix has revealed the first-look image, official title, and 2027 release window for PLANESWALKER, its upcoming animated series based on the long-running Magic: The Gathering franchise. Developed in partnership with Hasbro Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast, the show will adapt the fantasy card game’s expansive universe into an animated saga centered on powerful mages known as Planeswalkers.
The announcement was published on Netflix’s Tudum on November 14, 2026, alongside the first-look promotional material and details about the series’ creative team. Rather than focusing on a single card-game storyline, PLANESWALKER will explore the wider multiverse, with Chandra serving as its central character. The series is scheduled to premiere in 2027, although Netflix has not announced an exact release date.
The project brings together creators with experience in television, animation, and fantasy storytelling, marking another major attempt to bring the Magic: The Gathering universe to a wider entertainment audience.
PLANESWALKER puts Chandra at the center of a multiverse conflict
The story follows Chandra, a powerful pyromancer whose abilities make her a target. Haunted by her past, she must join forces with some of the most legendary Planeswalkers to confront an emerging threat. Their mission involves navigating dangerous alliances, confronting personal struggles, and preventing a catastrophic war that could destroy countless worlds.
The first-look development diary also offers a glimpse of the show’s visual direction. Since Magic: The Gathering features multiple planes with distinct cultures, architecture, and environments, the animation team intends to give each world its own identity. Co-showrunner Cindy Appel highlighted the scale of the source material, explaining, “What we have to go off of are thousands of cards.”
Showrunner Terry Matalas added,
“Each one of these cards is a window into this incredible world. It’s not just world-building — it’s worlds-building.”
Matalas, known for Star Trek: Picard and VisionQuest, serves as showrunner, with Cindy Appel as co-showrunner. Oscar-winning filmmaker Patrick Osborne, known for the animated short Feast, is the supervising director and an executive producer.
The production team also includes executive producers Gabriel Marano and Lauren Chavez-Myers, who serves as co-executive producer for Hasbro Entertainment. Daisy West is producing the series, while DIGIC Pictures is handling the animation.
Netflix originally announced its Magic: The Gathering adaptation in 2019, with Joe and Anthony Russo attached to the project. That version was eventually scrapped before Matalas took over the creative direction in 2024. With its official title and first-look footage now revealed, PLANESWALKER is scheduled to premiere on Netflix in 2027. No exact release date has been announced.
