The latest pasttime to make the transition onto the big screen looks to be Magic: The Gathering.  The card game, which celebrated its 20th anniversary of its first publication last year, represents a battle of wizards known as "Planeswalkers" who deploy cards depicting spells, artifacts and creatures in order to defeat their opponents.  The Magic community remains strong, with professional players participating in an organized tournament system.  It's no surprise then that Fox has worked out a deal with Hasbro to adapt the popular game, tapping Simon Kinberg to produce and develop the property into a franchise.  Hit the jump for more.

As Heat Vision reports, Kinberg will shepherd the building of a Magic: The Gathering adaptation into a cinematic universe, as is the business model these days.  That model makes a lot of sense here, as it does in the world of comic books, since a number of expansion packs and new editions have been revealed over the years.  20th Century Fox already has faith in Kinberg, having signed him to a three-year first-look deal to build a Marvel-style universe with their Fantastic Four and X-Men properties.  With their comic properties apparently well in hand, the studio's decision to adapt the fantasy card game into a similarly sized universe points to their intention to build up a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit type franchise.  Other than those lucrative adaptations (and that of television's Game of Thrones), fantasy has been a tough sell in theaters in recent years.  Perhaps this news, and the current Warcraft adaptation, are signs that the trend may be changing.  Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!