David Blaine says “Do Not Attempt” in new docuseries because he can be afraid, too.

Before that story, here’s what you should also know this week

• Star Wars Celebration just concluded this year in Japan, where attendees were treated to Star Wars talent appearances like Hayden Christensen and Diego Luna. Fans were also the first to hear announcements like a new Star Wars feature film called “Star Wars: Starfighter” coming from writer-director Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Reynolds, as well as changes coming to attractions in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The next Star Wars Celebration will happen in 2027 in Los Angeles.

Magic in Blaine’s sight.

Chances are that you know of David Blaine. 

Since the early 2000s, he has garnered the attention of the United States and the greater world through his “magic acts.” But the interest of the world didn’t come through some ordinary sleight-of-hand or card trick (though he’s a master of that, too).

Blaine’s ‘illusions’ were his ability to put his own body and mind through feats of what we would consider impossible. Whether it was holding his breath underwater for nearly 10 minutes or regurgitating live frogs that he swallowed, the magic of David Blaine was more about the effect of a magician—to make you in awe through disbelief.

Since those early years, Blaine has gone on to tour the world to share his type of magic, including a new residency in Las Vegas that basically puts together his most famous acts all in one show.

But has returned to TV with a new show on National Geographic and Disney+ will reveal a new side to the magician that we haven’t seen before: being afraid.

“Yeah, isn’t it strange to see?,” said Chris St. John, an executive producer for “David Blaine: Do Not Attempt.” He continued, “But I think like any other docuseries, we see a more human side to the subject, and in our case, our subject is David Blaine who is typically not afraid.”

Yet in each episode of the six in this first season, you do see Blaine scared of trying physical and mental acts that you would assume he’d do from previous acts he’s done. However, the fear he shows in attempting these things are coming from people in many countries around the world, including Southeast Asia, South Africa, and Brazil who are basically just like him.

EP St. John shared that the team, in partnership with Blaine, identified and wanted to capture people that Blaine admired for doing the magic he does: with their own bodies. “Oftentimes, that meant these people were doing ‘daredevil magic’ to the next level- enough for David to be afraid and for us to be scared for his safety,” said St. John.

In one episode that featured Blaine in India, he encounters someone who is able to step and smash glass bottles with any part of his body. There’s a segment that shows this person smashing a large gin bottle on his head, destroying it into shards of glass as Blaine stands in awe of the act. In every episode, he will challenge himself to do the thing he is in awe of, but with the weariness of his own crew and medics.

“I know this show is called ‘Do Not Attempt’ and we think that means us and not David. But it often meant David,” said St. John, adding that what makes the show work even more is that our host and main subject is the one who often becomes the student and not the teacher, though Blaine does end up doing his own magic to the awe of those featured in the episodes.

So how can these seemingly superhuman magicians do these that Blaine seems scared to do? Each episode also dives into the secrets of these people themselves, which often came from their own culture and spiritual roots. As for the guy who smashed bottles on his head in India, he said that a lot of the power and reasons to even attempt these daring acts comes from his connection to his god and his reliance on him. 

With each episode of “David Blaine: Do Not Attempt,” it really does seem that there is something outside this world and human understanding that makes everything you see Blaine and those he meets do.

Still, it isn’t so much that Blaine can’t do what he was learning from these others, rather it was the convictions put together with these skills that made what is shown unbelievable.

St. John added, “So are we saying that with enough conviction, practice, and belief that you can do this type of magic yourself? Definitely not. But if David can do it past his own fear then I’m sure it’s possible. I think we all can believe in that magic.”

All episodes of the first season of “David Blaine: Do No Attempt” are now streaming on Disney+ and National Geographic. You can watch an entire full episode right now in the YouTube player below.

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