Games Workshop Says Its Contract With Amazon Prevents It From Revealing Any Details on the Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe — but Shares Promising-Sounding Update on Scope and Scale

Work connected the Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe continues, Games Workshop has said successful its latest fiscal report, but don’t expect immoderate important quality immoderate clip soon — it’ll beryllium “several years” earlier thing comes of it.

That’s the little connection the UK institution issued to investors arsenic portion of its yearly study this week, which besides included a promising-sounding update connected what to expect.

Former Superman histrion and Warhammer 40,000 superfan Henry Cavill is acceptable to prima successful and enforcement nutrient the Warhammer 40,000 franchise crossed each Amazon Studios productions aft Games Workshop and Amazon finalized their woody precocious past year.

Cavill's Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe is shrouded successful mystery, and Games Workshop itself has cautioned fans not to expect to spot thing of it for immoderate time. Still, fans are excited astir the imaginable of yet seeing Warhammer 40,000 brought to beingness successful live-action signifier crossed films and TV shows — and with Cavill steering the ship, they’re assured it volition beryllium done right.

However, condensing the immense scope of the IP into films and TV shows portion sticking to a tenable fund whitethorn beryllium a challenge. Warhammer 40,000 is simply a highly elaborate mounting with aggregate factions, thousands of years of warfare played retired connected a galactic scale, and, astatine the bosom of it all, tremendous Space Marines who often combat against adjacent bigger monsters. We’re talking abstraction battles that tin past hundreds of years, gargantuan onshore battles that tin devour full planets, and the Warp, a spot truthful unknowable that it tin beryllium beauteous overmuch thing you tin imagine.

That’s wherefore fans person wondered astir the communicative Amazon plans to archer with its 40K project. Perhaps thing a spot much grounded that doesn’t needfully revolve astir Space Marines is simply a much realistic option, specified arsenic writer Dan Abnett’s much-loved Eisenhorn series, which follows the inquisitors Gregor Eisenhorn and Gideon Ravenor arsenic they hunt heretics and demons.

But if Amazon wants to spell full-blown galactic Space Marine, it could archer the communicative of the sprawling and foundational The Horus Heresy saga, oregon possibly prime 1 of the much celebrated battles successful the existent setting, specified arsenic The Fall of Cadia.

Either way, realizing 40K successful live-action is simply a immense undertaking, which is wherefore Games Workshop’s connection successful its fiscal study has fans purring:

“On 10 December 2024 we announced the conclusions of our negotiations with Amazon for the adaptation of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 beingness into films and tv series, unneurotic with associated merchandising rights. The task continues successful enactment with our contractual statement with Amazon. This aforesaid declaration prohibits america from sharing immoderate circumstantial details oregon commercialized terms.

"We person large partners who proceed to show their committedness to contiguous Warhammer authentically and astatine the scope and standard befitting our fantastical setting. This is simply a semipermanent concern with Amazon and determination won’t beryllium immoderate important quality successful the abbreviated word — these things instrumentality respective years to bring to market.”

It’s that enactment astir having “great” partners (Amazon and Henry Cavill) who are seemingly committed to presenting Warhammer “at the scope and standard befitting our fantastical setting” that is of involvement here. For fans, that hopefully means Amazon volition spell large connected 40K successful presumption of accumulation worth astatine least, with its hugely costly The Lord of the Rings amusement The Rings of Power caller successful the memory.

As Games Workshop insisted, this is not thing we volition spot thing of immoderate clip soon. So we’re near with scraps to mull over, specified arsenic caller comments from Dan Abnett astir NDAs and upcoming books.

In the meantime, Games Workshop pointed to the well-received Warhammer 40,000 occurrence connected Amazon Prime’s animation amusement Secret Level, which it described arsenic “a taster of Warhammer IP successful integer signifier connected the tiny screen.”

In June, Cavill himself touched connected the “complexity” and “trickiness” of adapting the Warhammer 40,000 IP. But, helium insisted, he’s loving the challenge, which for fans volition beryllium large to hear. Bringing Warhammer to beingness "is a imagination travel true," Cavill said, "but it's antithetic from what I've done before, successful the consciousness I haven't had my manus connected the tiller of things before. It's fantastic doing that. It is simply a tricky IP, and a precise analyzable IP, and that's what I emotion astir it. The challenges that travel with putting this connected the leafage successful a mode that is doing justness to that complexity, that trickiness, and that nuance, is simply a situation I'm enjoying enormously."

When the Games Workshop / Amazon woody was announced, Cavill issued a connection connected Instagram saying he’d been “working distant successful conception rooms, breaking down approaches to the enormity and magnificence of the Warhammer world."

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].