Henry Cavill will star in and executive produce a “Warhammer 40,000” franchise for Amazon Studios.
The company, which secured global rights to the immensely popular intellectual property from Games Workshop, will create series, films and more under the agreement.
Since launching nearly 40 years ago, the Warhammer universe has been constantly expanding through GAW’s miniatures, sourcebooks, tabletop games, animations, novels, a wealth of licensed material, and video games.
“Warhammer 40,000” is set in the far future, where humanity stands at the edge of what might be its brightest future, or its darkest age. The threats to humankind’s empire are many — traitors driven by the fires of ambition, alien empires sworn to reclaim the stars, and the corruption of reality by malevolent gods.
Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Natalie Viscuso (“Barbarian,” The “Lego” franchise, the “It” films, “The Departed”) partnered with Cavill early on to secure the coveted IP and deliver it to Amazon Studios.
“I have loved “Warhammer” since I was a boy, making this moment truly special for me,” Cavill said in a statement. “The opportunity to shepherd this cinematic universe from its inception is quite the honour and the responsibility.”
Vertigo will executive produce with Cavill and GAW’s Andy Smillie and Max Bottrill alongside Amazon Studios.
“Warhammer 40,000 has captured the imagination of fans of all ages, from all walks of life, and all over the world,” Amazon and MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke added. “We are excited to work with Henry, Vertigo Entertainment, and Games Workshop across our Amazon entertainment businesses on this brilliant, immersive franchise for our global customers to experience for years to come.”
The news comes the same week we learned the former star of “The Witcher” would not be returning to play DC’s Superman.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Cavill said that while the news from DC Studios’ James Gunn and Peter Safran was “sad,” he wishes “all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.”
In addition to season three of “The Witcher,” Cavill’s upcoming projects include Matthew Vaughn’s globe-trotting spy thriller “Argylle,” the highly anticipated reboot of “Highlander” and Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.”