Maya Hawke is reportedly the first actor on board Legendary and Hasbro’s live-action Magic: The Gathering film. In an exclusive, Deadline says sources told it the Stranger Things actor is set to join the project. Her character hasn’t been disclosed, and there’s no official studio announcement in the reports we’ve seen. IGN relays the same Deadline report, describing the part as a “key” one.
The picture Deadline paints is of a film built around an ensemble. As Empire summarises the report, the wider cast is expected to go through an audition process, while producers made Hawke the priority for a first offer. Variety reports she’s expected to anchor a yet-to-be-cast group of actors. Variety also notes that the tabletop game is set across a multiverse of fantasy worlds, with players acting as wizards known as Planeswalkers, so a large cast has plenty of room to work with.
Behind the camera, Matt Johnson directs. He’s known for BlackBerry and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, and he co-writes the script with Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald. Variety describes Johnson as a longtime Magic fan. IGN reads his comedy background and the ensemble approach as a sign the film could land closer to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves than to a grim fantasy epic. That’s IGN’s inference, and nothing in the reporting confirms a tone.
The casting matters because Magic has spent years stuck in development. IGN traces the history: a 2008 Hasbro deal with Universal collapsed by 2012, and 20th Century Fox picked up the rights in 2014 before designer Mark Rosewater confirmed that project was dead in 2022. Netflix also tried a live-action film and an animated series in the early 2020s, and neither went anywhere. Legendary and Hasbro announced their partnership in 2025, with the film meant to anchor a wider live-action universe that includes television.
It also lands in a busy stretch for games and anime adaptations. We’ve recently covered Paramount’s live-action Cyberpunk 2077 movie, Netflix’s Gundam film starting production and Sony joining Lionsgate on live-action Naruto. Unlike Gundam, Magic hasn’t reached production, and no start date has been shared.
Hawke’s schedule is already filling up. Deadline lists The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the romantic comedy Wishful Thinking and Netflix’s God of the Woods as her next projects.
Who is directing the Magic: The Gathering movie?
Matt Johnson, the Canadian filmmaker behind BlackBerry, directs and co-writes the script with Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald.
What role is Maya Hawke playing?
It hasn’t been revealed. Deadline’s sources only describe it as a key role within an ensemble cast.
When will the Magic: The Gathering movie be released?
There’s no release date or production start in the reports we’ve read. Legendary and Hasbro haven’t announced either.
