The Witcher.”/> Enlarge / Henry Cavill as Geralt from the Netflix series The Witcher.
Netflix
Amazon has signed a deal with Games Workshop to acquire the intellectual property rights that will enable the tech and media giant to produce films, TV series and other content based on the popular Warhammer 40K franchise.
Warhammer 40K has been one of the most popular features among gamers and others for almost 40 years. It started as a tabletop game but has also spawned numerous popular video games and books over the years.
This news might be interesting enough on its own, but fans of the franchise might also be interested to know that Henry Cavill — the actor who played, among other things, Geralt in Netflix’s The Witcher series and Superman in Zack Snyder DC’s superhero films played – is affiliated with the project as an actor and executive producer.
Cavill posted a short teaser on Instagram to announce his involvement:
It has been my dream for 30 years to see a Warhammer universe in live action. Now, after 22 years of experience in this industry, I finally feel I have the skills and experience to bring a Warhammer Cinematic Universe to life. Partnering with Natalie Viscuso at Vertigo has been an indescribable blessing, without her we might not have found the perfect home on Amazon. And a home like Amazon gives us the freedom to stay true to the massive scope of Warhammer. To all the Warhammer fans out there, I promise to respect this intellectual property that we love. I promise to bring you something familiar. And I strive to bring you something fantastic that hasn’t been seen before.
Our first steps are to find our filmmaker/creator/writer. Watch this room my friends.
For the Emperor!
There have been many lackluster adaptations of geeky intellectual property of late, arguably Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time. But Cavill’s involvement might help ease fan concerns, as Cavill is a dedicated Warhammer 40K geek who has often spoken about character painting and other Warhammer-related activities in interviews.
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Cavill recently stepped down from the role of Geralt in The Witcher and was replaced by The Hunger Games’ Liam Hemsworth. His run as Superman is also over, according to a recent announcement from DC Studios co-chairman James Gunn.
Warhammer 40K is set in a very distant future (the 40K roughly refers to the years in which it takes place), which is somewhat consistent with what historians used to call Europe’s Dark Ages. The franchise is the definition of “Grimdark” and paints a picture of a universe where billions toil to serve a God-Emperor and a massive, brutal war.
However, the universe is far more expansive than its politics, with myriad threats to humanity including hordes of insects such as Starship Troopers and Space Orcs among others.
It’s not yet known what part of this vast universe and its sprawling timeline spanning thousands of years will take place in the Amazon series, but it’s possible that Amazon acquired the rights due to the franchise’s Marvel Cinematic Universe-like size and potential .