Netflix's Witcher Replacement Is His Dark Materials Meets The Lord Of The Rings

Netflix's adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's dark fantasy The Witcher looked set to be the flagship fantasy franchise for the platform. With Henry Cavill, already a Witcher fan, cast in the lead role, some of the best monsters in a fantasy TV show, and the potential to grow into a sprawling epic with multiple spinoffs, it appeared that the series could not fail. Unfortunately, The Witcher's mistakes held the show back, and after a well-regarded first season, Rotten Tomatoes audiences were not impressed with subsequent seasons, with ratings falling with each new chapter in the story.

After a controversial cast change, with Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher will end with its fifth season, expected to premiere late in 2026. This leaves the door open for Netflix to adapt a new fantasy franchise that will not only outshine the troubled series, but learn from its mistakes. Netflix has some bingeable fantasy TV shows already, but the upcoming Magic: The Gathering adaptation is perfectly placed to become one of the biggest fantasy TV shows of the next decade.

Magic: The Gathering began as a collectible card game, and has expanded into a multimedia fantasy franchise. Teams of players take the roles of "Planeswalkers," who explore an unlimited number of worlds, taking on quests, duels, and campaigns. This collaborative approach, with its epic scale and magical elements, makes the franchise resemble The Lord of the Rings, but with a much more ambitious twist. Like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, characters enter a multiverse, which gives the TV series infinite possibilities and the potential to define a generation of fantasy fans.

Magic: The Gathering Has Everything It Needs To Outshine The Witcher

Like The Witcher, Magic: The Gathering has started from a strong position, with the franchise already having an established fanbase. It is also benefiting from Terry Matalas as showrunner. Having worked on 12 Monkeys and Star Trek: Picard, Matalas has experience translating complex and lore-filled stories to a wider audience, making him a great choice for the project. The format is also working in the show's favor, as Netflix has had more success with animated fantasy than live-action. Of all the animated Netflix TV shows we can't wait to see, Magic: The Gathering is its most ambitious project yet.

A major criticism of The Witcher is the way in which the series began to sidestep its themes of grief and pain in favor of impressive monsters and falling into many of the same fantasy tropes that the original books criticized. As Magic: The Gathering also features high-stakes tragedies and apocalyptic storylines, its treatment of these themes could make the difference between it standing out in the fantasy genre, and becoming another fantasy show that fails to live up to expectations.

Both Avatar: The Last Airbender and Arcane have already proven that an animated fantasy TV show can carry significant emotional weight and extremely dark storylines, and still get a 100% positive Rotten Tomatoes score. By leaning into this aspect while ensuring the show remains faithful to the spirit of the games, even if it does not directly recreate elements, Netflix's Magic: The Gathering series could easily outshine The Witcher.

Netflix's MTG Series Is Perfectly Set Up For Today's Fantasy Fandom

A mediocre series once meant that it could be decades before a franchise was revisited for a new attempt. However, streaming has changed the way we watch TV, allowing shows to become cult hits years later, reach a wider audience, and explore different options if an initial franchise does not work as well as expected. We can see this from the way The Wheel of Time franchise has been approached. The TV show has been abruptly canceled after low viewership and criticism from longtime fans, but it is getting another chance in animated form.

Magic: The Gathering has already enjoyed success with crossovers, placing it in the ideal position to reach beyond its core fanbase. With opportunities for sidequests in unlimited worlds, the series could expand into live-action, shorts, movies, and miniseries, no matter how well the upcoming show is received. Today's fantasy fans value creativity while remaining faithful to the source material, and the Magic: The Gathering TV series is perfectly set to achieve both, with room for more.