With the streaming platform evaluating which series to fund and which to hold off on amidst a continuing global pandemic, Netflix has elected to halt development on the forthcoming series adaptation of Mark Millar’s The Magic Order, according to Deadline.
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The series adaptation was set to be executive produced by modern horror veteran James Wan (The Conjuring) and Lindsey Beer (Sierra Burgess is a Loser), with Beer acting as writer/showrunner for the show with Wan attached to direct the pilot episode before pulling out to due pandemic concerns and was swiftly replaced by Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark‘s André Øvredal.
The series was still in the scripting process and had not yet begun casting, but was eyeing an early 2021 production start date in Prague and sources report that with the ambitious scope of the project and its globe-spanning nature, Netflix chose to pull the plug for the time being, though are reportedly still interested in developing a series adaptation in the future as the streamer’s comic-book launch became the highest-selling new launch in nearly 20 years.
Click here to purchase the first volume in Millar’s comic book series!
Early pre-production was underway in the Czech Republic before the cancellation notice, with the country seeing a record number of new pandemic infections this week, including reportedly at least one member of the team, and with the rate of infection in Europe creating a sense of global uncertainty for film and TV productions once again, the platform has been cancelling a number of series.
We live in a world where we’ve never seen a monster and these people are the reason we sleep safely in our beds. Magic meets the mob in The Magic Order, as five families of magicians sworn to protect our world for generations must battle an enemy who’s picking them off one by one. By day they live among us as our neighbors, friends, and co-workers, but by night they are the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect us from the forces of darkness… unless the darkness gets them first.
The Magic Order series ran for six issues and marked the first franchise Millar created as part of the recent acquisition of Millarworld by Netflix, and the graphic novel collection of the entire series just recently hit shelves.
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Netflix and Millar are set to produce not only brand new comics in the future (with hopes of turning them into live-action and animated properties on Netflix) but will also adapt many of the other original stories from Millarworld into films, series and kids’ shows available exclusively on Netflix. Though several have previously been optioned by other Hollywood studios, the rights to some of Millar’s properties now lie with the streaming service.
ComingSoon.net recommends all readers comply with CDC guidelines and remain as isolated as possible during this urgent time.
