Mark Millar's The Magic Order Series Is Officially Back In Development
Mark Millar has carved out a place for himself in the last 20 years as a comic book creator with a singularly adaptable vision. His work on Marvel's "The Ultimates" fed directly into the MCU, giving us everything from an inter-superhero civil war to a version of Nick Fury who looks less like David Hasselhoff and more like Samuel L. Jackson. He made Wolverine an old man in a dystopian future, tasked with an apocalyptic, hyper-violent cross-country trip, and a few years later, "Logan" came out. Aspects of his work can be seen, sometimes pulled verbatim, in the "Fantastic Four," "Spider-Man," and "X-Men" franchises.
He's also responsible for some of the most memorable comic adaptations in recent memory stemming from original characters — "Kick-Ass," "Wanted," and "The Kingsman," to name a few. In 2017, he signed his "Millarworld" universe over to Netflix, with a live-action "Jupiter's Legacy" series starring Josh Duhamel, Ben Daniels, and Leslie Bibb leading the charge in May 2021. Now, in a press release from the streaming service, Millar has offered an update on the future of the Millarverse. There's plenty of good news to go around for fans of gritty heroes, and one of the biggest takeaways is the reveal that "The Magic Order" is finally on its way to audiences.
The Magic Order looks set to reappear
"The Magic Order" is a bleak fantasy entry in the Millarworld library, which Millar described to Entertainment Weekly as "'The Sopranos' meets 'Harry Potter'" in a 2018 interview. The premise: real-life magicians live among the general public, blending in out of necessity, and they keep an eye on the supernatural threats that pop up from time to time. "As a kid, I always used to rationalize the fact that there were no monsters (since nobody's ever seen a monster or caught one on camera), with the idea that there are people who take care of this," the author explained to EW.
The road to a "Magic Order" series has been a long one. The show was originally announced three years ago with "Saw" co-creator James Wan attached to direct and produce, but Deadline reported that plans had been scrapped in October 2020, crediting the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the decision.
Now, it appears, the program is back on track. "I'm also happy to share that 'The Magic Order' is in active development after we had to postpone due to all the uncertainty last year," Millar wrote in his statement for Netflix. "Some time away has given us a chance to come back with a completely fresh look at the material, and we should be getting into our new writers' room very shortly."
From the sounds of things, "The Magic Order" is starting from scratch, but there's no confirmation yet as to the show's timetable or whether James Wan will be returning to the project. We'll be sure to keep you posted as more news comes in.