Just when Henry Cavill thought that 2022 might be wrapping up as something of an Annus Horribilis, between leaving The Witcher in a combo of creative dissatisfaction and looking to concentrate on his revived career as Superman, only for that to be pulled out from under him, one of the other irons in the fire has heated up. He's attached to star in and produce a series based on the Games Workshop title Warhammer 40,000.
If you’re looking at Warhammer and saying, “Whathammer?”, allow us to provide a military briefing. The ‘Dungeons & Dragons’-style sci-fi dice game, launched in 1987, is set 40,000 years into the future where the situation is dark and dire.
Human civilization has stopped progressing and is in an unending war with aliens and magical beings, with gods and demons figuring into a theological class system. The humans make up the Imperium of Man, who are militaristic. A race of skeleton-like androids are known as the Necron; there is an elvish race known as Aeldari as well as Orks; Tyranids are nasty aliens; and the T’au is a blue-skinned alien race that may offer some hope. So now you know.
Cavill is a diehard fan of the game (he drops mention of that in this Pilot TV podcast interview) and it feels like the perfect fit for him. Amazon had been doggedly pursuing the rights, and see this as having potential for movies and Prime Video TV series, of which Cavill's will presumably be the first.
"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,” says Cavill. “I couldn’t be more grateful for all the hard work put in by Vertigo, Amazon Studios and Games Workshop to make this happen. One step closer to making a nigh on lifelong dream come true.”
As for The Witcher, meanwhile, he'll still be back for one more season, due on Netflix next year. Everything's coming up Cavill!
