Exactly two years after Amazon MGM Studios acquired global rights to the Warhammer 40,000 game from Games Workshop for Henry Cavill to star in and executive produce a cinematic universe, there has been movement on the project. The first piece of the potential franchise, a TV series, is now officially in development at the studio.
According to sources, a mini-room was assembled to hone in on a creative direction for the Warhammer universe. Based on the material produced by the writers, a decision was made to proceed with the development of a TV series as the first project, sources said. No showrunner has been locked in yet, with a deal being, ahem, hammered out.
The timing is not a coincidence. In its annual financial report filed in July, Games Workshop noted that the company and Amazon had until December 2024 to mutually agree on “creative guidelines for the films and television series to be developed by Amazon” for the streamer to retain the rights, originally acquired in December 2022 and extended for another 12 months a year later.
Cavill teased the new phase of the Warhammer 40,000 screen adaptation, which has been a passion project for him, on Instagram.
“My incredible team and I, alongside the brilliant minds at Games Workshop, have been working away in concept rooms, breaking down approaches to the enormity and magnificence of the Warhammer world,” he wrote. “Together, we’ve been sifting through the plethora of incredible characters and poring over old tomes and texts. Our combined efforts have led us to a fantastic place to start our Universe, which has been agreed upon by those up on high at both Amazon and Games Workshop.”
Warhammer 40,000 is set in the far future, where humanity stands at the edge of what might be its brightest future, or its darkest age. The threats to humankind’s empire are many: traitors driven by the fires of ambition, alien empires sworn to reclaim the stars and the corruption of reality by malevolent gods.
Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Natalie Viscuso partnered with Cavill to secure the Warhammer 40,000 IP before taking it to Amazon. Vertigo executive produces with Cavill and GAW’s Andy Smillie and Max Bottrill alongside Amazon MG< Studios.
“I have loved Warhammer since I was a boy, making this moment truly special for me,” Cavill said at the rime of the initial Amazon announcement. “The opportunity to shepherd this cinematic universe from its inception is quite the honor and the responsibility.”
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