Forget The Witcher and Superman: Henry Cavill will direct the Warhammer 40K dream project

Enlarge / Henry Cavill as Geralt from Netflix's The Witcher TV series. netflix

Amazon has signed an agreement with Games Workshop to obtain the intellectual property rights that will allow the technology and media giant to make films, television series and other content based on the famous franchise Warhammer 40K.

Warhammer 40K has been one of the most popular properties among gamers and others for nearly 40 years. It started as a tabletop game, but has also spawned many popular video games and books over the years.

This news might be interesting enough on its own, but fans of the franchise might also be interested to know that Henry Cavill, the actor who played Geralt in Netflix's The Witcher series and Superman in the Zack Snyder DC superhero movies, among others, are attached to the project as a cast member and executive producer.

Cavill posted a brief teaser on Instagram announcing his involvement:

For 30 years, I've dreamed of seeing a Warhammer universe in live action. Now, after 22 years in this industry, I finally feel like I have the skills 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 Warhammer's huge scope. To all Warhammer fans, I promise to respect this IP we love. I promise to bring you something familiar. And I strive to bring you something fantastic that has yet to be seen.

Our first steps are to find our filmmaker/creator/writer. Watch this space, my friends.

For the Emperor!

There have been a lot of lackluster adaptations of geeky IPs lately, arguably including Amazon's Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time . But Cavill's involvement could help ease fan concerns, given that Cavill is a Warhammer 40K enthusiast who has often talked about character painting and other Warhammer-related activities in interviews.

Cavill recently left the role of Geralt in The Witcher—to be replaced by The Hunger Games Liam Hemsworth. His run as Superman has also come to an end, according to a recent announcement from DC Studios Co-President James Gunn.

Warhammer 40K is set in the very distant future (40K roughly refers to the years it takes place) which is analogous in some ways to what historians called the Dark Ages of Europe. The franchise is the definition of "grimdark", painting a picture of a universe in which billions of people work hard to serve a God-Emperor and a vast and brutal war.

The universe is much larger than its politics, however, with countless threats to humanity, including hordes of insects resembling Starship Troopers and Orks from the space, among other beings.

It's not yet clear which part of this vast universe and its sprawling timeline through the millennia Amazon's series will take place, but it's possible that Amazon has acquired the rights due to the scale and potential of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.