Warhammer 40,000, often shortened to Warhammer 40k, is one of the most popular miniature war video games currently played today. Appropriately set around the year 40,000, humanity has united under the banner of the Imperium of Man, led by a powerful psychic entity known only as The Emperor of Mankind. The last bastion of order in the galaxy, humanity faces a grim future as it engages in intergalactic warfare with aliens, daemons, and the forces of Chaos itself in an equally violent and unforgiving universe. This is just scratching the surface of Warhammer 40k’s world, however. No single summary can really capture all the interconnected details of the Warhammer 40k universe.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
After his dramatic exit from the DCU, Henry Cavill recently announced his plans to both produce and star in a live-action Warhammer 40k series for Prime Video. Cavill is a fan of the series, according to a piece by GQ Magazine, and his devotion to bringing the franchise to the small screen has been reflected in recent interviews.
But there’s a big difference between devoted fans and casual players. It’s important to keep other perspectives in mind when bringing a franchise as complex and scattered as Warhammer 40k to a wider audience. What could Prime Video’s Warhammer 40k adaptation do to be friendly to newcomers?
It Should Focus on the Astra Militarum
Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment/Games Workshop
The Astra Militarum, or the Imperial Guard, is the largest, most conventional piece of the Imperium of Man’s army. Resembling the typical ground troops one would see in something like Aliens or Starship Troopers, the Imperial Guard’s infantry is also supplemented with traditional tanks, mechanized walkers, and long-range artillery, all underneath the leadership of trenchcoat-wearing “Commissars.” They embody one of the darkest aspects of the Warhammer 40k universe: that life is short-lived and not to take for granted, as Imperial Guards tend to die off in the hundreds of thousands before victory can be secured in battle.
Focusing on the Imperial Guard would give the Warhammer 40k universe an easy grounding point for a new audience. They’re the most “human” out of the multitude of different factions available, and having a relatable character would lend the more fantastical elements of the Warhammer 40k’s universe more weight. It’d be a wholly different experience for the audience to see hulking Space Marines save a doomed battle compared to seeing them rip through dozens and dozens of monsters by themselves. Conversely, it’d help convey the utter brutality and hopelessness that embodies many of Warhammer 40k’s conflicts if we see them through the eyes of the lowest foot soldier.
And Should Avoid Too Much Fan Service
Games Workshop
We have to remember that, aside from Warhammer 40k fans, there are going to be a lot of people interested in the show that may have never even heard of the franchise before. They’ll see the colorful characters, the interesting setting, and the large-scale battles, but they may tune out once dozens of characters, planets, and battles are dumped out as if they were common knowledge. It’ll be important for the series to not necessarily explain every facet of the Warhammer 40k universe, but to balance exposition with fan service equally.
Toss in a recognizable name here and there, highlight popular characters in the background, but ultimately remember that you’re making a show first. Yes, it’s a show about Warhammer 40k, but it still has to work beyond that.
Writers Should Pick a Single Antagonist Faction
As much as we’d like to see every faction of Warhammer 40k get some representation, there’s really only so much you can do with limited time. A single antagonist faction to focus on would give the audience a clear villain while opening the door for others to be introduced as the series goes on.
A few choices come to mind when it comes to having a singular “big bad” for the audience to root against. There’s the Orks, a faction based solely around cartoon logic, endless green swarms, and chaotic memes, the Chaos Space Marines, the corrupted counter to the “heroic” Space Marines, the Necrons, cybernetic Borg-like creatures that can self-repair themselves and harvest technology, and the various Chaos Daemons that serve the chaos gods Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh. Each one offers a unique threat to the Imperium of Man, while allowing for interesting interactions with their allies.
If Space Marines are to be featured alongside the Imperial Guard, we could get insight into their inner struggle against the temptation of Chaos, as Space Marines that become corrupted by the Chaos Gods eventually join the side of the Chaos Space Marines. If the Necrons are involved, we could see the Imperial Guard’s tense alliance with the Adeptus Mechanicus: creatures that provide the Imperium of Man’s munitions while pursuing a complete synthesis of flesh and metal. Should the Orks cause a ruckus, they could unearth the much more serious threat of the Chaos Daemons, as they have done before in previous Warhammer 40k stories.
There’s really no telling what a live-action Warhammer 40k series will bring to the table. However, seeing as Cavill is more than open about his love for the franchise, we can safely hope for him to deliver a quality show that’ll appeal to both fans and casual audiences alike.
