Stranger Things star Maya Hawke is trading one Hasbro gaming property for another. After three seasons battling monsters inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, Hawke is heading into the fantasy world of Magic: The Gathering. Legendary <a href="https://comicvibe.com/cinepolis-red-chillies-entertainment-drop-co/” title=”Cinépolis & Red Chillies Entertainment drop co”>Entertainment and Hasbro Entertainment’s upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular trading card game has reportedly found its first major star. And apparently, she was number one on the short list.
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Deadline notes that Hawke is joining the film in a role yet to be disclosed. The movie will be an ensemble film but Hawke’s character is expected to feature heavily in the story. The producers were said to have her in mind as their first choice and had offered her the role before auditions were held for many of the other parts. Matt Johnson, the director of BlackBerry and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, is directing, with Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald writing the screenplay. Legendary and Hasbro have plans beyond a single movie. The companies are working on a live-action franchise that could eventually include TV, beyond the in-development animated series.
From the Upside Down to Planeswalking the Multiverse
Positioned as the first collectible trading card game, Magic: The Gathering was originally published in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Players build decks of spells, creatures, and magical items to duel their opponents. Since then the game has blossomed into a huge fantasy universe with decades of characters, stories, and worlds. Its mythology centers around Planeswalkers, powerful magic users who can travel between different planes of existence. Its lore has expanded through more than 70 novels, numerous comic book series, and hundreds of short stories published online. Contributors include Murderbot creator Martha Wells, and Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman, who also worked on Star Wars Rebels. There’s no shortage of material for a movie, but the filmmakers haven’t revealed which characters or stories they’re adapting.
The live-action film isn’t the only Magic: The Gathering project in development. Terry Matalas, the showrunner of Star Trek: Picard and VisionQuest, is also working on an animated series for Netflix. Matalas confirmed in May 2025 that the scripts were complete and that the CGI series was moving forward with casting and animatics. The animated series is separate from Legendary’s planned live-action universe. There is no set release date for either project.
Hawke joined Stranger Things in its third season as Robin Buckley, quickly becoming a fan favorite. In the show, Robin helped uncover the mystery beneath Starcourt Mall and remained an important part of the monster-fighting ensemble through the later seasons. Hawke’s other credits include Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Do Revenge, and Inside Out 2, where she voiced Anxiety. There’s enough mythology here to choose from, so the biggest mystery isn’t who Hawke is playing in Magic, but which corner of that shared universe she’s coming from.
Got a favorite Magic: The Gathering character you want to see in the movie? Let us know who should play them in the comments below.
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