MTG's Universes Beyond 2027 plan gets a bit of clarity in Hasbro Earnings Call

Hasbro's Q2 earnings report dropped this week, and buried under the Marvel Super Heroes numbers ($300 million in the door in a single month, which is absurd) was a line that made me actually pay close attention to a financial call, which is something. Wizards said Universes Beyond in 2027 is leaning toward fantasy-adjacent IPs, and that they're centering these releases around significant dates or events tied to those properties. They also cracked a joke about there not being another set set in New York City anytime soon, which, fair, they heard us.

That's a real shift. The last few years of Universes Beyond grabbed whatever property had the biggest cultural footprint that quarter. This new framing means somebody at Wizards is sitting down with a calendar of movie release dates, game launches, and book drops, and asking which ones fit Magic's aesthetic. That's a genuinely fun puzzle to solve from the outside, so I did the same exercise. Here are five IPs with real 2027 moments that I think deserve the Magic treatment, including two I'd bet actual money on.

The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo's live-action Zelda film hits theaters May 7, 2027, directed by Wes Ball and produced with Miyamoto himself heavily involved. If Wizards is genuinely building 2027 around IP milestones, this is the biggest one on the calendar that also happens to be a perfect aesthetic fit for Magic. Hyrule is basically a fantasy setting with better puzzle design, and a set timed to the movie's release would be printing money before the first Play Booster hit a shelf.

I'd give this one a stronger than a maybe, but still questionable. Nintendo has been famously protective of Zelda's IP for decades, but we never thought they would say yes to a movie. Getting them to say yes to a Magic crossover at all would be a genuine coup. But if Wizards is chasing 2027 tentpole moments the way they're describing, their scheduled April UB release date, the month before the movie, attached to one of gaming's most beloved fantasy franchises is exactly the kind of alignment they're talking about.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

This is the one the internet keeps asking about every time Universes Beyond comes up, and 2027 is genuinely stacked for it. The Crocodile graphic novel spinoff ships to backers in March 2027 after a $2.6 million BackerKit campaign. The tabletop RPG and card game from Renegade Game Studios, funded through a record-breaking $13.29 million BackerKit campaign, is rolling out around the same window. There's a Peacock TV series in development from Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door, with fan speculation pointing at a 2027 or 2028 premiere. And book nine in the main series is likely landing sometime in 2027 too, going by the release cadence of the last few entries. It has quickly become my favorite book series and is genuinely fantastic from start to book 8 where they are now.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is, at its core, an end-of-the-Earth, forced dungeon crawl with a bloody game-show layer on top, which is about as on-the-nose a match for Magic as Universes Beyond has ever had a shot at next to Lord of the Rings. It's already got the exploding goblins, the absurd loot tables, and a talking cat with better stats than most of the human cast. If Wizards wants proof that a property fits the fantasy-adjacent lane they just described, this is the syllabus example and one of my odds-on bets.

Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive

This one doesn't have as clean of a 2027 release date attached, so I'll be upfront about that before I make the case. What it does have is Sanderson himself on the record, repeatedly, saying he wants this to happen. At Dragonsteel Nexus 2024, he said a Cosmere Universes Beyond set is "probably something that will happen," and that he's specifically holding out for a full set rather than a Secret Lair drop, something he's apparently already prototyped himself as a custom draft set based on The Stormlight Archive specifically. He's since shown up in a Magic video visiting Wizards HQ, which is the kind of access that doesn't happen for properties nobody's talking to.

Stormlight is the piece of the Cosmere I'd actually want Wizards to lead with, and it's also the piece with real screen momentum behind it right now. Apple TV's deal already has Blue Marble attached to produce the Stormlight Archive television series, while the Mistborn side of the deal is the one running into script delays and might slip past 2027 entirely. If Wizards is chasing IP tied to a real event, a Stormlight show moving through pre-production is a better hook than a Mistborn movie stuck in revisions.

I'm including it anyway, delayed movie and all, because it's the crossover the Magic community has wanted longest and loudest, and because Sanderson is already unusually close to Wizards as a person, not just as an IP holder. If 2027 is the year Wizards works down that list of "yes, maybe" answers Sanderson mentioned, Stormlight reads like the reward for patience rather than a marketing tie-in, and that's a different kind of exciting.

Game of Thrones

This is the pick I feel best about of the two wildcards, because it's not just me connecting dots. MTG-specific reporting on the 2027 release schedule lists Game of Thrones as one of the actual persistent industry rumors for one of the three unrevealed Universes Beyond slots next year, right alongside Mistborn/Cosmere and Zelda. Wizards has already confirmed the release windows for all three 2027 Universes Beyond sets (April 9, August 6, and November 19), just not the themes. So this isn't a case of me wanting it, this is a case of Magic talking-heads specifically naming it as a live candidate for a dated slot that already exists on the calendar.

On the screen side, there's a real 2027 event to point to as well. HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was renewed for a second season continuing the Dunk and Egg story, set to premiere sometime in 2027. It's not a locked date the way Zelda's is, but it's a confirmed renewal, not speculation, and it keeps the Thrones universe actively in the cultural conversation heading into whatever window Wizards eventually reveals.

The fit itself barely needs explaining. Westeros is built on houses, sigils, and a monarch mechanic that Magic already has sitting right there waiting for a reason to get used again. Fans have been building unofficial custom sets for this exact crossover for years, one fan project ran to 357 cards after two years of work, which tells you the appetite exists whether or not Wizards ever pulls the trigger. Of everything on this list, this is the one I'd bet real money actually happens in 2027.

The Elder Scrolls

Wizards already knows how to do this, because they've done it before. The Fallout Commander decks released back in 2024 (Hail Caesar, Scrappy Survivors, Science!, and Mutant Menace) proved a Bethesda property translates to Magic without losing what makes it recognizable. The Elder Scrolls is the obvious next step in that same relationship, and it's a much better aesthetic match for Magic besides. Tamriel is straight-up high fantasy, not post-apocalyptic wasteland, which means the crossover writes itself in a way Fallout had to work harder for.

Now, the Elder Scrolls VI doesn't have a confirmed release date. One leaker has floated late 2027, and Todd Howard himself has been cagey enough about timing that most serious estimates land anywhere from late 2027 to 2028. So this isn't a case where I can point at a locked release date the way I can with Zelda. But they do hold a conference around Bethesda games every year, and that would be considered an event in 2027.

So what I can point at is precedent. Wizards doesn't need Elder Scrolls VI to exist yet to make this set. Fallout got its collector's set and Commander decks years after the games that inspired them, built around Skyrim-era and Oblivion-era assets that Bethesda already had, and a Universes Beyond Elder Scrolls set could lean on decades of existing lore (Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, the Daggerfall Covenant) without waiting on a sequel that keeps sliding to the right. If Wizards already has the Bethesda relationship warm from Fallout, this is the lowest-friction license on the entire list.

Where I land on all this

If I had to bet on which two actually happen first, I'd put my money on Game of Thrones and Dungeon Crawler Carl, in that order. Game of Thrones is established, has a huge following, releases next year, and a ton of people talking about it. Carl's rights situation is far simpler than Nintendo's famously protective stance on its properties, and the community demand is loud enough that Wizards would be leaving an easy win on the table by ignoring it. Zelda is the bigger swing of the bunch, the alignment with Wizards' own stated strategy is almost too perfect to pass up, but Nintendo's track record on licensing makes it a longer shot than the other two.

Stormlight and The Elder Scrolls are the two true wildcards on this list, since neither has a confirmed date to point to. Stormlight has the longest-standing fan demand in Universes Beyond history and an author who's told us what it'll take to get a yes. Elder Scrolls doesn't have a release to build a case around at all, but it's got the cleanest precedent: Wizards already proved out a Bethesda license with Fallout. That's the fun part of this new approach. For the first time in a while, guessing Universes Beyond's next move isn't just about chasing whatever's trending, it's about combing release calendars, with a couple of off-the-wall guesses for the properties that have earned a spot on the list regardless of the date.

What would you want to see? Drop it in the comments, and follow our social media channels for more as news develops.

Universes Beyond 2027 FAQ

What did Hasbro say about Universes Beyond 2027?

In their Q2 2026 earnings report, Hasbro said Universes Beyond releases in 2027 will lean toward fantasy-adjacent IPs, with sets centered around significant dates or events tied to those properties, rather than picking IPs purely by cultural buzz.

Is there a confirmed Legend of Zelda Magic set?

No. There's no confirmed Legend of Zelda Magic: The Gathering set. This is a wishlist pick based on the live-action Zelda movie's May 7, 2027 release date and Wizards' stated 2027 strategy.

Is Dungeon Crawler Carl getting a Magic: The Gathering set?

No confirmed set exists yet. Dungeon Crawler Carl has multiple real 2027 milestones, including a graphic novel spinoff, a tabletop RPG launch, and likely TV and book releases, making it a strong speculative fit for Wizards' new Universes Beyond direction.

Is there a confirmed Brandon Sanderson Magic: The Gathering set?

No. There's no confirmed Cosmere or Stormlight Archive Universes Beyond set. Sanderson has said he's holding out for a full set rather than a smaller drop, and Apple TV's Stormlight Archive television series, currently in development with producer Blue Marble, is the piece of the deal with the most momentum right now.

Is there a confirmed Game of Thrones Magic: The Gathering set?

No, not officially. But Game of Thrones has been reported by MTG press as one of the persistent industry rumors for one of the three unrevealed Universes Beyond slots confirmed for 2027 (release windows April 9, August 6, and November 19), alongside Mistborn/Cosmere and Zelda.

Is there a confirmed Elder Scrolls Magic: The Gathering set?

No. There's no confirmed Elder Scrolls Universes Beyond set. This is a wishlist pick based on Wizards' existing relationship with Bethesda, established through the 2024 Fallout Commander decks, and The Elder Scrolls' strong aesthetic fit as a high fantasy property.