UPDATED With Confirmation: ‘Warhammer 40,000’ Streaming Rights Soon To Be Acquired by Amazon; New Show Will Star and Be Executive Produced by Henry Cavill
Shortly after saying goodbye to the Superman role, much better news for Henry Cavill has arrived, as he is now set to star in a series based on the ever-popular Warhammer 40,000 line of tabletop wargames and pen-and-paper role-playing games. In addition, Amazon has invested in the streaming rights for the franchise, meaning that there will likely be more shows set in the expansive setting.
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Henry Cavill’s next gig will be taking him to the grim darkness of the far future, where there is only war. This comes off the heels of not only his exit from the Superman role (though James Gunn has indicated that he may get an invite back at some point in the future), but also The Witcher, which he unexpectedly left earlier this year following the completion of the third season (and now Liam Hemsworth is set to take over his role as Geralt of Rivia). Cavill, a longtime Warhammer 40,000 fan, will also executive produce the series, which will be produced by Vertigo Entertainment. Furthermore, Amazon is in final discussions to acquire the license to use the fan-favorite sci-fi intellectual property after a long bidding war, suggesting that more shows in the franchise could be developed.
Serving as a sci-fi counterpart to the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar lines, Warhammer 40,000 is set thousands of years into the future of our galaxy. The protagonists of most stories are part of a vicious alliance known as the Imperium of Man, a waning but still enormously powerful human empire that is being besieged from all sides by equally-vicious enemies from within (the traitorous followers of Chaos and the Daemons that they worship) and without (the various alien races knowns as Xenos). Back in 2019, it was announced that Amazon was developing a show based on the Eisenhorn book series, starring the titular Inquisitor (a sanctioned investigator looking to root out potential corruption from Chaos or Xenos forces from within). As of right now, it is unclear whether Henry Cavill’s project is related to this or will be a new series, and the status of the Eisenhorn show has not been revealed since it was first reported.
UPDATE: Henry Cavill has taken to Instagram to confirm the project as well as plans to develop a full-blown Warhammer cinematic universe alongside Vertigo and Amazon.
On top of that, Games Workshop’s Warhammer Community website has expanded on the news, adding there’s an intention of bringing the franchise to the big screen too. Click here to get the full story, but here’s Cavill’s official statement:
“I have loved Warhammer since I was a boy, making this moment truly special for me. The opportunity to shepherd this cinematic universe from its inception is quite the honour and the responsibility… I couldn’t be more grateful for all the hard work put in by Vertigo, Amazon and Games Workshop to make this happen. One step closer to making a nigh-on lifelong dream come true.”
The untitled Warhammer 40,000 series is in development.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
