Brandon Routh to play as Gideon in Netflix's ‘Magic: The Gathering’ animated series
Superman Returns actor Brandon Routh will play a major character in Netflix's upcoming CG-animated series Magic: The Gathering.
At the tail end of the Magic Showcase 2021 stream, Routh himself confirmed that he's set to play Gideon Jura in the series adaptation of the popular tabletop trading-card game.
“I’m Brandon Routh and I play Gideon in the upcoming Magic: The Gathering animated series, coming to Netflix in 2022,” he said in a video. “For those of you that don’t know, Gideon is known for being the strong guy who always stands up for what’s right, just, and isn’t afraid to fight.”
"Now I understand why they hired me for this," Routh later quipped.
Aside from donning Superman's cape in 2006's superhero film, Routh also appeared in several DC TV series such as Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, The Flash, and reprised his role as Ray Palmer, a.k.a. The Atom in The CW's Crisis on Infinite Earths event in 2019.
The actor's casting news came on the heels of the Russo Brothers' departure from the project. According to a report by Deadline, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame directors Joseph and Anthony Russo, along with head writers Henry Gilroy and Jose Molina, left the project over "different visions for how best to adapt the IP."
The report said that Transformers: Prime executive producer Jeff Kline has been tapped by Netflix to shepherd the project. Kline will now oversee the creation of an all new storyline and expand on the stories of the Planeswalkers, which are Magic’s unique magic-wielding heroes and villains.
Magic: The Gathering is coming to Netflix in the latter half of 2022! This animated series is a completely new story that features beloved characters like our friend Gideon here. Keep an eye out for the prequel novel, arriving alongside the first Netflix season. pic.twitter.com/zCQ8ZwI0wq
— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) August 24, 2021
Kline's team includes co-executive producer and story editor Steve Melching (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), supervising director Audu Paden, art director Izzy Medrano and writers Nicole Dubuc, Russell Sommer and Dan Frey, and Taneka Stotts.
“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,” Kline said. “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.”
First released in 1993, Richard Garfield's Magic: The Gathering has over 38 million fans over the last 25 years and has been published in eleven languages and played in over 70 countries.
(Images from IMDB)