Amazon and Games Workshop sign agreement to develop WARHAMMER 40,000 projects for the screen

As reported a year ago, Amazon have announced a comprehensive alliance with British wargaming company Games Workshop. The deal will cover Games Workshop's popular Warhammer 40,000 science fantasy setting and will allow Amazon to develop multiple television and film projects based on WH40K games and novels, both live action and animated. Amazon have also confirmed that everybody's favourite geek-thespian, Henry Cavill, will play a key role in their projects as producer, creative overseer and actor in at least one of the properties.

Whilst previously Amazon and Games Workshop had merely entered into talks, those talks have now progressed to signed contracts.

Warhammer 40,000 is a multimedia science fiction/fantasy/horror franchise. Set almost 39,100 years in the future, the property depicts a time when humanity has successfully gone into space and colonised more than a million worlds scattered across our galaxy. Faster-than-light travel is only possible via the Warp, a chaotic realm wherein dwell the evil Chaos Gods. The influence of the Chaos Gods is felt on many worlds, with Chaos cults falling victim to their evil and undermining the Imperium of Mankind from within. Alien races such as the Orks, the Eldar, the Necrons, the Tyranids and the Tau also post threats of varying degrees to the Imperium. The Imperium itself is also not the best place to live, with millions of people dying every day in the service of the God-Emperor of Mankind, toiling in misery on mechanical Hive Worlds or dying in the service of the Imperium's vast armies and space fleets. Chief among the Imperium's defenders are the Space Marines, genetically-engineered super warriors in towering power armour.

The franchise began in 1987 as a tabletop wargame, which remains the biggest-selling property in the genre, but has since branched out to over 500 works of original fiction, including novels, comics, audio dramas, animated films and video games.

This isn't Hollywood's first rodeo in the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium. Four years ago Games Workshop agreed to option out the Eisenhorn series of novels by Dan Abnett with a view to developing a TV series to be helmed by Man in the High Castle and X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz. It is believed that Spotnitz held discussions with Amazon, whom he worked with on High Castle, but the project did not move forwards at that time.

Eisenhorn remains a reasonable starting point for the franchise, with a cast consisting of mostly human characters with only occasional appearances by the Space Marines (the signature faction of the setting) and daemonic forces. This is an easier entry point versus the total gonzoid epic war insanity of something like The Horus Heresy series.

It is also possible Amazon might look to develop a series based on Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts series, which features relatable characters belonging to the Imperium's regular human army, the Imperial Guard. However, both Amazon and Games Workshop may be keener for something that front-and-centres the Space Marines and other core factions like the Orks, Tyranids or Necrons.

Cavill is a noted Warhammer franchise fan. He's appeared in videos to discuss the lore and his love of painting Warhammer miniature figures, and spoken of his appreciation for several of the spin-off video games and novels. He has even corrected confused interviewers over the differences between the Warhammer and WarCraft universes.

Games Workshop, Amazon Studios and Vertigo Entertainment will collaborate on the first project, the details of which have yet to be revealed, with Cavill tapped to star and executive produce, as well as extending his advice over other projects in the franchise. Games Workshop and Cavill both appear to be keen for any adaptation to hew close to the source material and not deviate purposelessly away, which seemed to become a bone of contention between Cavill and Netflix over their work on The Witcher.

GW and Amazon have indicated they will spend the next year working on the details of the first adaptation, so it will likely still be several years before any project actually appears on-screen.