Games Workshop confirmed a rumor that an announced Warhammer 40k production being helmed by Henry Cavill at Prime Video could be scrapped.
A screenshot from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024), Saber Interactive
Back in June, YouTuber Arch of the ArchCast Channel claimed the show or film that Games Workshop was working on with Amazon could be scrapped. He noted, “Right now, the agreement in principle between Games Workshop and Amazon appears to be in effect. This means that a team at Amazon a team of writers is right now trying to write out a story that is going to be turned into the Warhammer 40k television show. They have, I believe, a few more months on this deadline for this project and they have to hand it in and then it either has to be greenlit, or they have to have their writing date further postponed in the hope that they can produce something better further down the line, or the entire project will be shelved.”
He adds, “Those are the three opportunities. Either they’ll have a project they’ll go ahead with, they’ll shelve the whole thing, or they will extend the deadline to try and get a decent product going. In other words nothing is finalized yet. Absolutely nothing. There isn’t even any money for the project allocated as far as my insider can tell on Amazon’s behalf. No writing staff has been truly hired. No money has been truly allocated. No plans have been truly made.”
READ: Rumor: Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40k Show At Amazon Might Be “Shelved”
This rumor was confirmed in Games Workshop’s Annual Report that details, “Games Workshop and Amazon are working together for a period of 12 months, ending in December 2024, to agree [to] creative guidelines for the films and television series to be developed by Amazon. The agreement will only proceed if the creative guidelines are mutually agreed between Games Workshop and Amazon. We will update you accordingly.”
The report also detailed that if things do go well, Amazon has the rights to develop Warhammer Fantasy as well. It states, “Under the terms of the agreement, Games Workshop has granted exclusive rights to Amazon in relation to films and television series set within the Warhammer 40,000 universe, together with an option for Amazon to license equivalent rights in the Warhammer Fantasy universe following the release of the initial Warhammer 40,000 production.”
A screenshot from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Anniversary Edition (2011), Relic Entertainment
Games Workshop previously shared in a blog post in the middle of December 2023 that the company had come to terms with Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios to have an adaptation of Warhammer 40k brought to both the big and small screens.
The company shared, “Back in December last year we announced Games Workshop and Amazon Studios had signed an agreement in principle to work together to bring the Warhammer 40,000 universe to screens, big and small.”
It added, “Well, today we have an update, and it’s one we’ve all been longing to hear. We’ve now signed the full agreement and the next stage can begin!”
Warhammer 40,000 Guilliman vs. Black Legion
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The company also shared, “All we can tell you right now is that an elite band of screenwriters, each with their own particular passion for Warhammer, is being assembled to help bring the setting and characters you love to the screen. This illustrious group will be championed by Henry Cavill, who stands ready to take his place as executive producer – bringing his pen, sword and/or spear to the project.”
As for when the first project might arrive, Games Workshop detailed, “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. 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.”
An image of the XV Legion from Warhammer 40,000
Henry Cavill announced he was helming the Warhammer cinematic universe shortly after he announced he would not be returning to play Superman in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy.
He shared to Instagram in December 2022, “For 30 years I have dreamt of seeing a Warhammer universe in live action. Now, after 22 years of experience in this industry, I finally feel that I have the skill set and experience to guide a Warhammer Cinematic Universe into life. Partnering with Natalie Viscuso at Vertigo has been a blessing beyond words, without her we might not have found the perfect home at Amazon. And having a home like Amazon will give us the freedom to be true to the massive scope of Warhammer. To all of you Warhammer fans out there, I promise to respect this IP that we love. I promise to bring you something familiar. And I endeavour to bring you something fantastic that is, as of yet, unseen.”
He added, “Our first steps are to find our Filmmaker/Creator/Writer. Watch this space, my friends.”
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Since then he’s provided brief updates on the projects. In February, while promoting Argylle he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast, “It is the greatest privilege of my professional career to have this opportunity. I can’t say too much again. It’s early days still, but to have this opportunity to bring it to the screen and be at the tiller so it can be faithful is key.”
He continued, “This is the stuff I’ve been dealing with since I was a kid. This is sort of is the stuff I spend my free time daydreaming about. As an adult as well. And I get to bring it into life, and there is no greater reason than I join the industry than doing something like and I’m very happy to be here.”
He also teased he might team-up with director Matthew Vaughn when host Josh Horowitz asked, “Have you tried to get Matthew into Warhammer or gaming at all?”
Cavill responded, “No, not yet.” However, Vaughn retorted, “Gaming? I love gaming. What do you mean gaming at all? But we’ve spoken.” Cavill added, “Yeah.”
Vaughn continued, “Yeah, listen, I said I’d work with Henry in lots of different ways.” Cavill concluded with a grin, “Yeah, watch the space.”
Cavill previously told Collider, “Warhammer is progressing very well. Big things are happening, and we are very excited.”
Henry Cavill speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for “The Witcher”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
There was also a rumor that Cavill was not happy with Games Workshop introducing female Adeptus Custodes. This rumor surfaced on 4Chan claiming, “Female custodes are only going to be mentioned in the codex. No new sculpts or characters after the fact. Social media department jumped the gun and tried to put out fires with the wrong hose.”
“Intent is to push female custodes character in Amazon show without it ‘breaking lore’ because Amazon execs wanted a woman in power armor and wouldn’t settle for [Sisters of Battle]. People involved in the show are pissed because they’ve been moving ahead on Eisenhorn. Talks of inserting said female custodes into Eisenhorn story with Cavill threatening to walk away from the project. Small stock drop today, but GW figures it can ride it out if it stays mum on the subject. They really need better social media employees,” the leaker added.
“Cavill will be in an article due to ‘heading to GW to work on the new series’ this week or next,” the leaker concluded. “If he leaves, it’ll be a noticeable hit to the share price, meaning the show is dead (good ending) or Amazon is calling the shots (bad ending [not black Chogorians but similar scenario]) You can trust me, my dad works at Nintendo.”
Screenshot of alleged Warhammer 40K leak
Arch provided more information from his source
Arch began his video stating, “My Amazon Insider has given me some more information in regards to the female Custodes debacle and Amazon’s involvement in it, which may, at least in part, exonerate Games Workshop.”
A bit later he detailed, “According to my insider, here, the attitude at the Amazon GW meetings reached downright threatening levels, where the two sides were not happy with one another at all with Games Workshop actually pushing back quite aggressively on the idea of female Space Marines. Probably understanding to do so would be devastating to their company. I mean look at the sheer scale of the s**tstorm that was created by female Custodes, which is not anywhere near as massive a faction as the Space Marines.”
He continued, “GW knowing this would be a terrible idea pushed back a lot, but Amazon were not willing to give up on this either and may have carried out various little tactics like threatening to bring back people on Amazon, who were selling third party goods for 40K related stuff as they did even take down things like alternative dice sellers and people were selling bases and so on. That might have been a thing. And they might also have, perhaps, been talking about leaving the conversation all together.”
Adeptus Custodes via Warhammer YouTube
Next, Arch detailed, “Eventually [my insider] says GW caved in part and the female Custodes was a compromise solution intended both to ameliorate relationships with Amazon by going, ‘Okay, okay. How about this? You’ll have your female power armor, but we won’t do it with the Space Marines, okay?’ And also as a way to demonstrate to Amazon that this was not going to go over very well.”
In fact, Arch stated that an automated Amazon system has noticed significant complaints regarding the company’s various IP-related shows such as Wheel of Time, Rings of Power, and Warhammer. Arch shared, “And indeed Amazon’s bots, as well, that monitor the feedback that Amazon gets has been noticing a sharp uptick in people sending in complaints about them ruining universes like the Rings of Power and mentioning the 40K TV show in specific. Now, these have not been acted upon nor is there any indication that Amazon is particularly concerned yet, but there is now a sufficiently large enough volume of these complaints ahead of time to the point where their scraping bots, the software looking for feedback, is picking up on it and going, ‘There’s a lot of these. Should some human take a look at this maybe? Do we do we know what’s going on here? What is causing this trend of negative feedback?’”
“Which, hey, it might be a wonderful way of teaching Amazon that this might not be something they want at all,” Arch suggested.
Adeptus Custodes via Warhammer YouTube
Following this portion of the rumor, Arch turned his attention to what a source told him about Cavill’s reaction. He stated, “As for Henry Cavill I have also heard something related to him now namely that he is quite upset about this change. He is pissed at it, but he is not going to walk.”
“Bearing in mind that we don’t even know if it is possible for him to walk at this point as his introduction and you know co-staring and producing in this was one of the earliest fundamental piece of news about the Amazon Games Workshop TV show,” he added. “For all we know he could be bound hand and foot by contractual obligation and penalties at this point. Alternatively, again, well, it’s an Amazon paycheck. I’m not entirely sure I would be willing to turn that down much less somebody who is an actual actor and this is being his job.”
Arch then opined, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he is indeed quite upset about this because this is also his main faction, the Adeptus Custodes.”
Henry Cavill via Josh Horowitz YouTube
What do you make of Games Workshop confirming this rumor that the Warhammer show might be scrapped if Games Workshop and Amazon are not able to agree to creative guidelines?
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