What is Warhammer 40K, and why would Henry Cavill want to star in it?

Henry Cavill, actor and director of Henry Cavill’s acting career is not satisfied with his starring roles in Superman and Geraltof Rivia. The Witcher. Now, he’ll be the Warhammer Cinematic Universe’s Executive Producer and will perform as its First Big Star. So what exactly is Warhammer? Why would one of Hollywood’s best and brightest want to put their time and treasure to work bringing it to life? What characters would he like to portray?

What exactly is Warhammer?

Warhammer was born out of an ancient gaming tradition, which includes battles with Napoleonic miniatures.

The Warhammer universe, created by British game manufacturer Games Workshop — which started its business in 1975, importing Dungeons & Dragons to Europe — has two main branches. Warhammer Fantasy is the oldest branch. It’s a fantasy setting with swords and magic. Warhammer Fantasy, or Warhammer 4000, is another popular branch.

This science fiction universe was born in the 1980s as political satire, it’s the branch that Henry Cavill is most interested in, and it’s where his journey into creating a Warhammer cinematic universe will begin.

Warhammer 40,000 was set in the 41st Millennium. The main theme of the lore is humanity. The setting paints a grim picture of a post-post-postapocalyptic society trapped in a literal dark age and ruled by an authoritarian warlord with powerful psychic abilities known as the God-Emperor of Mankind. This is a culture that has been poisoned by ignorance. Innovation has stalled and millions upon millions of people work to fund wars on an inconceivable scale.

As I mentioned, political satire.

Which are Warhammer 40K’s pillars?

The world of Warhammer 40,000, above all things else is dark and grim. Its signature style of art is as dark and bleak as its fiction. It has been a fertile ground that inspired storytellers across the board, who have made adaptations to the 40K universe for comics and books as well as animated series. Games Workshop has even its own television subscription service, Warhammer TV.

In 40K, the human race is deeply corrupted and bureaucratic. A lot of Warhammer stories revolve around battles against powerful orks, alien intelligents, and space communists. However, Chaos, which is a magic force that can corrupt whole planets and make their citizens into violent cults bent to self-destruction, remains the most significant threat to mankind’s existence.

However, there are a few human factions who serve as the pillars for almost every story.

Space Marines

The Space Marines, a group of genetically engineered super-soldiers from all inhabited planets in the 40K galaxy are eight-foot tall and clad with fantastical-powered armor. Although there are many Space Marine chapters, the majority of human beings will never see one.

The Imperial Guard

Line troops, also known as the Imperial Guard or the Imperial Empire, are ordinary people who are conscripted to the Imperial army. Its forces, drawn from across the Empire are representative of all nations and nationalities, such as British, French and Indian units.

The Adeptus Mechanicus

Adeptus Mechanicus, a group of humans that fully embraces transhumanism is called the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Adeptus Mechanicus is located on Mars and is a religiously oriented group that believes in the Machine Spirit. It is responsible for the majority of humanity’s technological achievements over the last 10,000 years or more.

The Inquisition

Inquisition is a highly powerful organisation within the Empire. Its mission is to eradicate heresy against God-Emperor. The Inquisitors are its servants who work tirelessly in human-controlled spaces to uncover conspiracy. It is often at odds with Chaos forces who operate behind the scenes in order to subvert and destroy Empire.

Which are some of the most famous storylines from Warhammer 40K.

Games Workshop’s own publishing imprint has more than 200 books covering all aspects of the Warhammer brand — including Warhammer Fantasy. It is also known as The Black Library. This place houses several story arcs representative of 40K, each of which can be made into a feature-length film, or even the start of a new franchise.

The Horus Heresy

The Horus Heresy contains more than 60 books. It tells the story about how God-Emperor created Space Marines and their civil war fratricidal that began in the 31st century and ended in the year 40,000.

The Inquisition Series

Image by Black Library/Games Workshop

Author Dan Abnett’s Inquisition Series tells the tale of Inquisitors Gregor Eisenhorn and Gideon Ravenor working to stop a deadly Chaos plot against the Imperium. You can imagine a combination Blade Runner, The Young Pope, and Sherlock Holmes — plus a smattering of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke’s Training Day — and you’re more or less in the right wheelhouse.

Gaunt’s Ghosts

The Gaunt’s Ghosts series, loosely based on Sharpe’s Rifles, One of the most pulpy of these three main pillars is the 1993 television series featuring Sean Bean. Ibram Gant, an Imperial commissar, is the main character. This is a politically-oriented officer but also a leader in military affairs, much like the Russian commissars. He is the commander of Tanith First and Only which is a regiment consisting of Imperial guard women and men, and he fights against all odds.

Henry Cavill, who would he play in a movie about 40K or tv show?

Cavill is a favorite of many. The God-Emperor for Mankind, but as that character is literally a living corpse, it’s unlikely that will be his role — unless The Horus Heresy is the focus. Cavill would still make sense even if that were the case. Horus LupercalThe archtraitor in those novels or as Garviel LokenA Space Marine hero who fights against rebellious brothers.

Amazon may be cautious with its new venture and will tell small stories before embarking on epics the size of Star Wars, Dune or other franchises. Cavill might also be in Cavill’s shoes. Inquisitor EisenhornOr perhaps more Commissar Gaunt. My money is on Eisenhorn, as those books would place the narrative closer to the centers of power in the 40K universe and allow for more follow-on stories and tie-ins — in the vein of how MandalorianAnd Boba Fett: The Book of Boba FettThey were closely connected.

In 2019, a live-action version of the Eisenhorn books has been announced. Since that announcement, little to no further information has been made.

What is the cinematic universe?

But, keep in mind that 40K doesn’t represent all of Warhammer’s potential cinematic universe. It’s something that Games Workshop certainly wants you to remember; that’s why it called it out in its own announcement on Friday. The pantheon is actually Warhammer 40,000’s gods. And Warhammer Fantasy are intimately connected and could serve as a bridge to bring fans from a science fiction setting into a high fantasy one — and vice versa. Sub-brands like Blood Bowl and Necromunda could be a good source of material for new motion pictures.

The bottom line is that Games Workshop — already one of the most profitable companies in all of tabletop gaming — is sitting on a gold mine of intellectual property. Now that it has enshrined Cavill as its figurehead, there’s simply no telling how far things could go.