Games Workshop and Amazon have confirmed a long-gestating partnership to develop films and television shows set in the world of Warhammer 40,000. While previously mentioned, the partnership has now been cemented with an agreement allowing Amazon “exclusive” TV and film rights to adapt the Warhammer 40,000 universe, together with an option for Amazon to license “equivalent rights” in the Warhammer Fantasy universe.
Amazon will work alongside Games Workshop for around 12 months to form creative guidelines for upcoming Warhammer 40,000 film and TV properties, and production will proceed “once the creative guidelines are mutually agreed” between the two companies.
As previously revealed, it’s expected that actor Henry Cavill will be involved in this process to some degree. He was reportedly a “driving force” behind Amazon’s push to gain the rights for Warhammer 40,000 and has been flagged as an executive producer on the project. He may also star in upcoming TV or film adaptations – although this is yet to be confirmed.
Read: Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Review
So far, it appears Amazon and Games Workshop are planning for a mammoth cinematic-television universe of sorts, with multiple film and TV projects likely in development over the coming 12 months. Warhammer 40,000 is an enormous property with multiple spin-offs – not only in miniature form, but there are plenty of video games, too – and there’s many potential avenues to pursue.
The Space Marine series feels like an obvious choice for adaptation, given the recognisability of these figures and the impressive visuals of their hulking armour – but other Warhammer 40,000 releases are also rich with potential.
Recent video game release Rogue Trader, for instance, is a unique adaptation of the Warhammer source material that focusses more on political intrigue, and the nature of a failing, despotic oligarchy. In 2022, we also had the Darktide video game spin-off, which examined the nature of grunt work, and the importance of fighting back even when everything seems hopeless.
Beyond these more mainstream titles, there’s plenty of unique factions, lore, and history in Warhammer 40,000 that Amazon and Games Workshop could tackle in multimedia form. For now, plans for the upcoming series adaptations and films have not been formulated, but we expect to hear more news in the coming year, as Amazon and Games Workshop build out their future plans.
“TV and film production is a mammoth undertaking. It’s not unusual for projects to take two to three years from this point before something arrives on screen,” Games Workshop said in a note to its community. “Still, things are now properly rolling, and you can bet we’ll bring you all the latest updates and cool snippets as soon as we’re able.”
