Television WARHAMMER 40,000 Live-Action Series (In Development at Amazon, post #157)

[Cole train]

15 hours?

Yea meant that lol

 

[Fake Doctor]

Well, Amazon did such a great job with LOTR that I can't wait to see what they do with Warhammer.

 

[europe1]

Yea meant that lol

15 hours?

That book annoyed the hell out of me the protagonist got knocked out like four different times during the story and its supposed to all be happening during 15 hours<45>

But imo, in WK40 the one-off stand-alone novels are usually better than the big series (like Dan Abnett's work or the Horus Heresy stuff)

 

[Deleted member 110072]

The biggest issue is that you need a budget of a trillion dollars to do this justice

I'd say it has the potential to start fairly small though with the scale more implied.

Really I tend to think thats how the 40K mythology works as well, the idea it starts off at a fairly small scale level and expands in scope/history.

If you jumped straight into say the Horus Hersey I don't think it would be as effective as if you had already introduced viewers to the 40K setting.

 

[zapataxiv]

That book annoyed the hell out of me the protagonist got knocked out like four different times during the story and its supposed to all be happening during 15 hours<45>

But imo, in WK40 the one-off stand-alone novels are usually better than the big series (like Dan Abnett's work or the Horus Heresy stuff)

debatable the highs in the HH are some of the best out there but there is so much mediocre volume and some pretty low lows

personally my favorite is the night Lords series by dembski Bowden

 

[zapataxiv]

I've always thought that the WH40k lore would feel unbelievable clunky if transported to a live-action series. Just the bombastic way your average Ultramarine talks would feel pretentious and stilted. Very easy to make it all seem silly. There is a reason why most Warhammer animations are either very short or are very action/mission focused. Making a more traditional series in the vein of House of Dragon or Rings of Power would be pretty darn difficult imo.

this is something as a nerd or probably more accurately a dork i have thought of quite a bit.
if i was running a HH series i would lay it out like this:
start with an extra long episode describing the first heretics begininng events the downfall of monarchia and lorgars quest to the eye of terror
then go to the events of ullanor and follow lokien's story and the fall of horus
have the first season end with isstvan and the flight of the eisenstein

 

[europe1]

this is something as a nerd or probably more accurately a dork i have thought of quite a bit.
if i was running a HH series i would lay it out like this:
start with an extra long episode describing the first heretics begininng events the downfall of monarchia and lorgars quest to the eye of terror
then go to the events of ullanor and follow lokien's story and the fall of horus
have the first season end with isstvan and the flight of the eisenstein

Weeeeell...
I wonder if that is not to "in medias res" for your uninformed viewer. Not only would there be a ton of lore that needs to be explained very quickly -- you'd also need to make the viewer care about it. The first spark of heresy wouldn't matter very much to an audience who doesn't have a firm understanding of the God-Emperor/Imperium first.

But 40k lore is such a clusterfuck that its a nightmare to present it in an 1 hour episode no matter what you'd do. I think you'd need to do something pretty radical.

Comitting some heresy myself, I'd just start of with Horus/Black Legion meeting The Emperor for the first time.
Advantages
--Early on so not a lot of lore needs to be explained (comperatively)
--Makes Horus/Black Legion the audiences introductory POV characters. Which feels more natural than say the Word Bearers. Also provides the audience with an nice "character arch" in how Horus perceives the Emperor which would serve as a thematic throughline for the series.
--Enables the recruitment of the other Primarchs to be neat stand-alone episodes.

But yeah, doing an HH series would be a nightmare due to the sheer scope of... everything.

 

[shunyata]

Weeeeell...
I wonder if that is not to "in medias res" for your uninformed viewer. Not only would there be a ton of lore that needs to be explained very quickly -- you'd also need to make the viewer care about it. The first spark of heresy wouldn't matter very much to an audience who doesn't have a firm understanding of the God-Emperor/Imperium first.

But 40k lore is such a clusterfuck that its a nightmare to present it in an 1 hour episode no matter what you'd do. I think you'd need to do something pretty radical.

Comitting some heresy myself, I'd just start of with Horus/Black Legion meeting The Emperor for the first time.
Advantages
--Early on so not a lot of lore needs to be explained (comperatively)
--Makes Horus/Black Legion the audiences introductory POV characters. Which feels more natural than say the Word Bearers. Also provides the audience with an nice "character arch" in how Horus perceives the Emperor which would serve as a thematic throughline for the series.
--Enables the recruitment of the other Primarchs to be neat stand-alone episodes.

But yeah, doing an HH series would be a nightmare due to the sheer scope of... everything.

If HBO picked this up instead of Amazon, they'd find a way to shove all that exposition into a sex scene.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

is attached to star and executive produce a series adaptation of Warhammer 40,000,

Given how he's such a stickler for honoring the source material as a 'lore master' this is actually a bigger deal than he starring in it.

He learned from his experience on The Witcher, and as Superman, that if he can carry the weight of a starring role he should carry the weight in overseeing its production, rather than be at the mercy of idiotic producers that don't know and don't care about the overall quality of an adaptation.

 

[zapataxiv]

Weeeeell...
I wonder if that is not to "in medias res" for your uninformed viewer. Not only would there be a ton of lore that needs to be explained very quickly -- you'd also need to make the viewer care about it. The first spark of heresy wouldn't matter very much to an audience who doesn't have a firm understanding of the God-Emperor/Imperium first.

But 40k lore is such a clusterfuck that its a nightmare to present it in an 1 hour episode no matter what you'd do. I think you'd need to do something pretty radical.

Comitting some heresy myself, I'd just start of with Horus/Black Legion meeting The Emperor for the first time.
Advantages
--Early on so not a lot of lore needs to be explained (comperatively)
--Makes Horus/Black Legion the audiences introductory POV characters. Which feels more natural than say the Word Bearers. Also provides the audience with an nice "character arch" in how Horus perceives the Emperor which would serve as a thematic throughline for the series.
--Enables the recruitment of the other Primarchs to be neat stand-alone episodes.

But yeah, doing an HH series would be a nightmare due to the sheer scope of... everything.

i disagree to some extent.
I think GOT proved you can start at a pretty faced pace without dumping too much backstory from the get go.
showing the emperor and lorgars brothers chastise him for the relious worship and showing the emperors cold indifference to the complete annihilation of a beautiful world.
straying from the books would be the biggest mistake because it always is in these cases especially when the source material isnt exactly high literature but just something that is largely fun
just trim large chunks of fat

 

[Cole train]

I've always thought that the WH40k lore would feel unbelievable clunky if transported to a live-action series. Just the bombastic way your average Ultramarine talks would feel pretentious and stilted. Very easy to make it all seem silly. There is a reason why most Warhammer animations are either very short or are very action/mission focused. Making a more traditional series in the vein of House of Dragon or Rings of Power would be pretty darn difficult imo.

Thats why it has to be guard focused imo.Average men versus evil gods demons and so forth. of course you can do hive city criminal story or something possibilities are endless

Like this mini film shows how its done atmosphere vice

 

[Ballsaque]

Update: December 15, 2022

Amazon in Final Talks to Acquire Rights for WARHAMMER 40,000 Live-Action Series with Henry Cavill Attached to Star and Executive Produce

Henry Cavill may not be donning a red cape, but he does have a cool new gig. The actor, who Wednesday officially hung up his Man of Steel cape after Warner Bros. announced it is going in a new Superman direction thanks to DC Studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, is attached to star and executive produce a series adaptation of Warhammer 40,000, the popular science-fiction fantasy miniature wargame that is set up at Amazon.

Amazon is in final talks for the rights to the game, produced by Games Workshop, after months of negotiations and fending off rival companies that also sought the rights.

No writers or showrunners are attached, although Vertigo Entertainment is attached to also executive produce.

Warhammer is akin to a Dungeons & Dragons — dice are involved in the playing — but also features intricate miniatures that players can place and move around a model-constructed battlefield or world. Games Workshop in the 1980s made miniatures for D&D and launched the game in 1987. It has grown to become the most popular miniature wargame in the world and spawned many imitators.

The game’s setting is 40,000 years into the future where things are dark indeed. Human civilization has stopped progressing and is in an unending war with aliens and magical beings, with gods and demons figuring into a theological class system.

The humans make up the Imperium of Man, who are militaristic. A race of skeleton-like androids are known as the Necron; there is an elvish race known as Aeldari as well as Orks; Tyranids are nasty aliens; and the T’au is a blue-skinned alien race that may offer some hope.

Cavill is known to be a Warhammer fan and paints figures. Because the project is in such early stages — to reiterate, Amazon has yet to close the deal — this is not the next gig for Cavill, who recently announced he was exiting his lead role in Netflix’s The Witcher.

But it is an ambitious move for Amazon and could deliver a show that is epic in scale as it combines the big genre elements of sci-fi and fantasy as well as a host of human and non-human characters.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/henry-cavill-warhammer-40000-amazon-1235283251/

The fact that it's connected with Amazon is most likely going to make it garbage, with the wokeness and all. I really hope Cavill shows his integrity and makes this as grim dark as it needs to be.

Tennatively excited but also sad that the amazon stink is on this.

 

[Ballsaque]

Love Warhammer. I wish there was more strategy to the game itself, but I absolutely love painting them. I don't even play, I just paint a few space marines every now and again. It's daunting to even try to get into reading the books because there is so much out there now.

Regardless, I'll watch this.

You dont think there's enough strategy to the game? It has like a 500 page rule book lol

 

[Ballsaque]

Well, Amazon did such a great job with LOTR that I can't wait to see what they do with Warhammer.

Youre being ironic ye?

 

[Ballsaque]

Thats why it has to be guard focused imo.Average men versus evil gods demons and so forth. of course you can do hive city criminal story or something possibilities are endless

Like this mini film shows how its done atmosphere vice

Hive city criminal story could be goated. Check out the warhammer crime books if you're so inclined, they were pretty cool

 

[Busgosu]

“Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment.”

 

[davidlemonparty]

If he is a marine, it's surely gonna be an ultra.

But my bet woukd be an inquisitor. Either eisenhorn or some original content that ties into some Canon set pieces

 

[God_Emperor_Of_Mankind]

Nice.

 

[Fox by the Sea]

since Cavill is a fan, AND a producer, he probably negotiated a pretty wide range of responsibility for himself, which means control of the narrative. in this case, it's a good thing.

 

[Fox by the Sea]

Please watch this fan film and tell me you aren’t interested in this universe. This is literally less than 1% of how cool it could be.

wow this was great