The Potential of a Warhammer 40K Adaptation

Warhammer 40K is one of those series I’ve always meant to take a deeper look into. My knowledge on it is extremely limited, but from what I do know, it seems like the kind of thing I’d enjoy. A grim universe, tons of deep lore, and a ridiculously expensive tabletop game? Sign me up!

Is what I’d like to say. Unfortunately, I’m not quite in the position where I can blow a thousand bucks on an army I’d never get the chance to play with. Still, I can appreciate the concept.

Or I could read the books. Recommendations would be appreciated.

While I’m not a huge 40K nerd, do you know who is? Famous Hollywood actor Henry Cavill. Man could be doing interviews about being Superman or Geralt, and he would always find a way to bring up Warhammer. He’s even been in talks with Games Workshop and Amazon to adapt the series to the screen.

Now, it’s still far too early to say anything about this project. We don’t even know if it will come to fruition, or even if it will be a movie or a TV show. As of the writing of this article, it’s no more than an idea.

But it’s an idea with a ton of potential.

A lot of the movies and shows we’ve been getting in the last few years have been dreadfully boring and formulaic. Reboots, remakes, live-action adaptations, the list goes on and on. For every diamond like ‘Godzilla: Minus One,’ there’s fifteen turds like ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.’ The same safe, boring IPs telling the same safe, boring stories.

Part of why I’m so intrigued by Warhammer’s universe is how unlike other series it is. For one, its aesthetic is plain awesome! Grim dark sci-fi blended with fantasy elements? With eldritch gods and orcs and aliens and religious zealots? If adapted properly, it could be a visual spectacle on par with ‘Dune!’

Tonally, it could be a breath of fresh air. From my understanding, Warhammer is not a universe for good guys and bad guys. The closest thing to a hero in this universe is just a lesser evil. It could present a far more intriguing dynamic than the endless loop of ‘hero beats up the bad guy to preserve Capitalism’ we’ve been getting recently.

You also don’t need to worry about it getting stale too quickly. The Warhammer universe is so absurdly huge that you could tell just about any story you want in it. Personally, I’d love to see a comedy starring the Orcs; imagine the shenanigans you could come up with as a writer with a race that can make anything real via collective belief!

That’s not even counting the dozens of already existing books you could use. Again: open for recommendations.

Honestly, I just want this movie and/or show to be a good jumping on point for people like me. Warhammer seems like a really cool universe, but actually getting into it can be a bit overwhelming. Forget the game and it’s massive price tag; which of these books do I start with? Which of the video games? Fuck, should I start with one of the fan films?! Having an official film to mark an entry point would go a long way in making it easier to take the dive.

It’s honestly crazy how good a Warhammer adaptation could be. It could be a great jumping on point for people like me, a cool spectacle to fans of the franchise, and it could give us a great grim dark sci-fi/fantasy story, a genre we don’t often see explored today. If they got it right, it could be a slam dunk for everyone!

Emphasis on the ‘got it right’ part of that sentence. Because a butchered adaptation could kill all the hopes and dreams laid out in this article in an instant. As it happens far, far too often.

Although even if it is bad, we won’t be able to say so. That would be heresy, and even I know what happens to heretics in 40K.

Sources:

• Warhammer 40K: Henry Cavill movie release prospects. All we know this Amazon project (The Economic Times)