Move over, Geralt – there’s a new fantasy project that’s tailor-made for Henry Cavill.
The former Superman (and soon to be) star of The Witcher joins forces with Amazon Studios to create a cinematic universe based on Games Workshop’s iconic Warhammer 40,000. Furthermore, Cavill is set to star and executive produce multiple films, TV shows and other media centered around the tabletop gaming series.
Taking to Instagram, Cavill couldn’t contain his excitement at the confirmation. After all, Cavill is a huge Warhammer fan, so it’s understandable that he’d be pumped to help make the Warhammer 40,000 universe live.
Confirmed by an official announcement published on Warhammer community site (opens in a new tab)Cavill will help oversee all Warhammer 40,000 productions at Amazon Studios. Cavill will be backed by Vertigo Entertainment – a studio overseen by Roy Lee and Natalie Viscuso – whose previous projects include The Departed, The Barbarian, the Lego series and the It series.
It is not known how many projects are in development or which ones Cavill will star in. We’ve reached out to Amazon to find out more, including whether its live-action and potentially animated Warhammer 40,000 deals will be exclusive to its Prime Video streaming service. We’ll update this article if we get a response.
Speaking as part of the reveal, Amazon Studios and MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke said: “Warhammer 40,000 has captured the imagination of fans of all ages, from all walks of life, and around the world. We are excited to be working with Henry. , Vertigo Entertainment and Games Workshop across all of our Amazon entertainment businesses for this great, immersive franchise that our global customers will enjoy for years to come.”
For the uninitiated: Warhammer 40k is a tabletop role-playing game (RPG) set in the far future. In the series, humanity stands on the brink of its brightest future – or potentially its darkest era. With numerous threats from traitors to the human empire, as well as dangerous and cruel alien races and malevolent gods, Warhammer 40K. universe.
The reveal comes less than two days after it was confirmed that Cavill will not be returning as Superman in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s (DCU) reboot of the DC Cinematic Universe. Meanwhile, Cavill won’t be returning as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher season 4, and Liam Hemsworth is set to take over the role in one of Netflix’s best shows (in our opinion, anyway).
As such, The Witcher season 3 marks the end of Cavill’s tenure as favorite monster slayer. This led to fans angrily assuming a Change.org petition (opens in a new tab)which urged Netflix to fire the fantasy series’ creative team and retain Cavill’s services instead. In the wake of the fan fury, The Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich exclusively told TechRadar that she fully understands “why fans are hurt, but hopes they will continue watching the show from Season 4 onwards.”
With Cavill not returning to his most iconic roles, many have wondered what the future holds for the Enola Holmes and Mission Impossible: Fallout actor – including us. Yesterday (December 15) we suggested that Cavill should consider starring in or developing a live-action series or movie based on Warhammer 40,000, so we’re happy to be proven right.
While he won’t be returning as Superman or Geralt, Cavill has a lot on his mind. In addition to The Witcher season 3, which arrives in mid-2023, he is also set to star in the Apple TV Plus spy movie Argylle, which will debut next year. Cavill will also appear in the yet-to-be-titled reboot of Highlander and the film adaptation of the Australian novel The Rosie Project.
For more news and information on Cavill-related productions, check out our review of The Witcher: Origin of Blood spin-off or in order of watching the DC Extended Universe movies.