Amazon, Henry Cavill, and Games Workshop Have a Month Left to Decide on Warhammer TV Series.
If you’re a fan of the Warhammer universe, then it’s safe to say that you are probably excited for the aspect of a fully fledged Warhammer TV Show. Add Henry Cavill into the mix and you probably have one of the greatest game adaptions of all time.
Amazon and Games Workshop have until the end of the year to agree on “Creative Guidelines”. What does this entail? I would assume that Creative Guidelines entails which story to write, what the characters should be like, casting, etc. No one exactly knows for sure except for the parties involved.
The Announcement and Skepticism
When Games Workshop and Amazon hinted at the possibility of a Warhammer TV series in December 2022, it was enough news to get people excited about the prospect of bringing Warhammer to the big screen. I was excited about the notion of seeing some of my favorite games played out on TV following intricate plot lines and including the deep lore of Warhammer. This announcement also brought a lot of skepticism about the project.
Shows like Halo and Rings of Power were dismal in their approach to bringing the famed stories to TV. Halo has a massive fan base, rich lore, incredible characters, and complicated story lines. Halo would ultimately be butchered by Paramount in its quest to bring Halo to TV. Rings of Power would suffer the same fate on Amazon’s streaming service. As a Halo fan, the Halo TV show was a masterclass in how to ruin a video game.
If I am a fan of Warhammer, I would be weary about the notion that an expansive universe like Warhammer could be dumbed down, contorted, and mis-represented. Following the source material is a must in my opinion. Now, not every piece of the source material can be retrofitted to tv and that is where writers need to get creative. Nevertheless, the source material should be where all writers pull from inspiration. Don’t be like 343 studios when they hired “people who hate Halo” to design the game. Find writers who are passionate about Warhammer to bring about the first TV series.
What is Next?
Games Workshop should absolutely hold its ground on what they want the show to look like. Games Workshop should work with the writers of the show to stay true to the story but also let writers help make stories more TV friendly. While I don’t mind a TV series following the lore word for word, I understand that a streaming giant like Amazon would want to market the show to more than just Warhammer fans. Especially given the recent success of the Fallout TV Series.
Henry Cavill and Games Workshop could approach another streaming giant like Netflix to create the show should the Amazon deal fall through. We haven’t heard any recent news on what is going on but there is still a month left to decide what will become of the last year’s worth of work.
While we wait for the announcement of whether Games Workshop and Amazon are moving forward, I would rather the project be in development hell than butchered on any streaming service.
Knowing what we know about Henry Cavill and The Witcher series, it is safe to assume that Mr. Cavill will want to stay as close to the source material as possible.
As we go into the Holiday season, hopefully we can get more news from Amazon and Games Workshop on what is next for what I would say is the most exciting TV series adaptation.
