Ignite the Spark, the Story of Magic: The Gathering is an upcoming documentary film that will, according to a press release, explore the history and popularity of the most popular of all time that isn’t played with a deck of standard playing cards.
The documentary, which does not yet have a release platform or a date, will be produced by many of the people behind Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us and The Movies That Made Us; the Nacelle Company, who produced those shows, is joining with Cavegirl Productions and X-Ray Films for the film, with Brian Stillman (The Toys That Made Us) and Kelly Slagle (Of Dice and Men) co-directing. They’ll be joined by Seth Polansky (Of Dice and Men) and Brian Volk-Weiss (The Toys That Made Us) as producers.
It’ll be interesting to see how this one shapes up. The history of Magic is one that’s been told many times, to the point where its creator and its place in the competitive gaming scene are both as much the matter of folklore as they are (fairly recent) history. Whether an approach as soaked in nostalgia as something like The Toys That Made Us can offer any new perspectives on that history, and on Magic‘s ongoing presence in popular culture, remains to be seen.
Magic is having a bit of a moment, though. The Russo Brothers, in collaboration with Netflix, are producing an animated Magic series, after all, and Wizards of the Coast just announced multiple new video game-related projects for the property. If nothing else, this documentary is a reminder that we’re about to get as much Magic as we can handle.