After an exhaustive and unusually public two-year discussion process, Amazon Studios and Games Workshop have agreed to move forwards with a screen project set in the latter's Warhammer 40,000 science fantasy universe. As previously announced, actor and noted geek ambassador Henry Cavill will star in and produce the project.
Amazon and Games Workshop announced plans to work together and with Cavill on the project two years ago. One year ago, they moved to the position of formalising contracts, but also announced a twelve-month consultation process where they would agree on the terms of the adaptations. That consultation process has ended with both companies happy to proceed.
That means that the first project, details unannounced so far except it will be a TV series, not a movie, will now go into early development, with scripts to be written. Cavill has confirmed his continued involvement.
Warhammer 40,000 is a science fantasy franchise set 39,000 years in the future and incorporates elements of space opera, horror, military fiction and dark, satirical comedy. The ruthless Imperium of Man controls a vast swathe of the galaxy, but is beset on every side by external alien threats: the brutish Orks, the scheming Tau, the ancient Necrons, the hive-minded Tyranids and the arrogant Eldar, amongst others. The Imperium is also weakened from within by Chaos cults, worshippers of the dark Chaos Gods who dream of turning the Imperium into a charnel house of worship of the Ruinous Powers. Originating as a tabletop wargame in 1987, the franchise has expanded across some 600 books, short story collections and audio plays, alongside dozens of video games, numerous spin-off board games and hundreds of wargame sourcebooks and tabletop roleplaying rulebooks.
The lengthy discussion process has probably been down to Games Workshop's exacting standards of quality control. Previous proposed film and TV projects foundered on Games Workshop requiring to maintain creative control over all visual elements of the setting, since their bread and butter is the massive range of miniature models and accompanying artwork based on them. Most TV adaptations seem to want to change elements (sometimes for practical reasons, sometimes just changing things for the sake of change), which Games Workshop likely would like to avoid to prevent any disputes over the ownership of visual elements of the franchise.
Back in 2019 Games Workshop partnered with veteran US screenwriter Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files, The Man in the High Castle) on a potential adaptation of the classic 40K novel trilogy Eisenhorn. No broadcaster was attached, but Spotnitz worked with Amazon The Man in the High Castle. Whether that project had any bearing on this one is unclear.
More news on the first project is expected next year. Both companies have clarified that the current deal is for Warhammer 40,000 alone, but the deal could incorporate fantasy franchises Warhammer and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar further down the line.
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