While a good magician never reveals their tricks, Netflix has given comic book fans a glimpse of what's up their sleeve when Mark Millar's THE MAGIC ORDER is conjured onto the subscription-based streaming service. It's been announced that AQUAMAN helmer and THE CONJURING universe mastermind James Wan will serve as an executive producer of the upcoming series alongside Lindsey Beers, who in addition to executive producing will also showrun and write the new episodic venture for Netflix and Mark Millar.
Another exciting announcement attached to today's reveal is that Wan will also direct the show's debut episode, which sets up the story that centers on five families of magicians who've sworn to protect our world and must battle an enemy who’s been 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.
Wan will executive produce through his Atomic Monster production company, with Michael Clear also executive producing with Rob Hackett as co-executive producer and overseer for Atomic Monster.
THE MAGIC ORDER was created specifically for Netflix by Mark Millar and was later turned into a comic book, written by Millar and illustrated by Marvel powerhouse artist Olivier Coipel. Upon hitting the stands, The Magic Order rose to become the highest-selling comic book launch in nearly 20 years. Recently, the six-issue series was collected into trade paperback format and is now on shelves wherever graphic novels are sold.
Wan has his hands full at the moment with nine active producer credits for projects like ANNABELLE COMES HOME, DC Universe's SWAMP THING TV series, a reboot of NetherRealm's MORTAL KOMBAT, THE NUN 2, and much more. For the moment, Wan's next directing gig is for DC's AQUAMAN 2, which isn't scheduled to swim into theaters until December 16, 2020. Of course there's a chance that Wan will direct another feature to his list of directing credits, but we'll have to wait to hear more about that, if the opportunity indeed comes to pass.