Cavill Takes On a Double Role in Amazon Studios’ Upcoming Warhammer 40K Franchise

Amazon Studios and Games Workshop are bringing the much-anticipated Warhammer 40,000 universe to life and to screens, and the gaming and nerd community’s superstar Henry Cavill is set to take the lead.

Henry Cavill is an established crowd-pleaser. Fans everywhere hold him in high regard, but this is especially true for the global community of nerds and gamers, and we mean this in the most non-derogatory, fellow-nerdy way possible. This subculture, quickly becoming a cultural movement of its own, has longed for an individual to raise the banner in front of the world and prove that the days of seedy basements, Fanta-ladened LAN parties, and neckbeards are over. Instead, a new dawn is coming, one in which being “out” is “in”, where loving DnD, SciFi, doing cosplay and knowing the Jedi’s oath by heart is no longer frowned upon and LOL-ed, but rather embraced and, why not, admired.

You might say that it all began with the widespread popularity of Game of Thrones, and you might be right. However, it established itself as the new “in” when we witnessed a buff Cavill build his own PC (albeit with the CPU cooler wrong side up). The long-looked-over lovers of fantasy finally had a global brand representative who’d make their case known worldwide. For Cavill, it all began with Superman, the role for which he almost missed the audition because he was, and you can’t make this stuff up, playing World of Warcraft. No, he’s no poser. He’s one of us.

However, the good thing for Cavill is that it’s not all ending with Superman, as many a trope of a banner lord would suggest. Is he glad? Probably not, and he’s not the only one, as #fireJamesGunn keeps trending and Disney’s stock keeps plummeting. Is it Henry’s doing? No? Is he grinning in the corner? Possibly so? Is this the only thing he’s got to be happy about? Glad to report it’s not.

Kryptonite Out of Nowhere: From Konnichiwa to Sayonara

Before all those reasons for happiness, there’s another matter to tackle, and it has to do with the demise of Cavill’s Superman. Where did it all come from? The truth is – no one knows. Gunn’s beloved by fans of Guardians of the Galaxy, and for a good reason. The man knows how to make a fun, engaging, and often downright silly superhero movie, one that never forgets it’s meant to entertain. 

However, according to fans, as well as pundits, what he’s decided to do is questionable, if not extremely detrimental for the entire planned DC Universe reset. It was fine when The Rock faced the guillotine. Cavill, however, is another matter entirely. Superman, and especially Henry’s Superman, is much too loved to walk away in silence without raging against the dying of the light.

At this point, no one knows what Gunn’s plan is, if there even is any, as many fans will certainly point out. His expertise to lead such a complex project and his desire to finally catch up with Marvel Cinematic Universe’s planetary success are in question and he’s nowhere to be found, no response, nada, which is in his right. However, how long it will remain in his right as the current man behind DC? That is yet to be seen.

From Superman to the Witcher and Back: A Rough Ride

This brings us back to Henry Cavill, a man who just months back decided to leave the role of Geralt of Rivia and don the cape of Superman once again, much to the happiness of fans across the globe. There was never a person, bar Christopher Reeve, who epitomized this iconic character in such a perfect manner. A triumphant return if there ever was one, especially after the panned second season of The Witcher and well-known internal struggles on Cavill’s part to do the role justice, which, obviously, fell on increasingly deaf ears from the producers of the show.

Rejoice the people did, as this was the most certain sign that one of the most powerful beings in the universe would get the treatment he deserved. Alas, ’twas short-lived, as Gunn took the helm of DC Studios and everything went to smithereens. “Wow, man”, the fans thought, “At least he could’ve stayed on to play Geralt if Superman’s out of the picture”. However, what if we told you that Cavill has another, even more nerd-friendly ace up his sleeve?

For the Emperor: A New Hope for Cavill

Warhammer is both an incredibly popular and an obscenely mysterious franchise, not at all for the vast number of volumes across different media. The classic Warhammer is classic epic fantasy, but 40,000 is something else entirely, and Cavill, who’s been a lifelong fan of everything 40K is now in the position to finally, and we truly mean finally, bring this universe to life. And, all that for Amazon, a company known for its obscene amounts of money matched only by its obscene desire to get on the radar of everything SF, still after two failed attempts in the form of The Wheel of Time and The Rings of Power.

And it’s Henry Cavill in the driving seat, this time for real. No more producers unwilling to pay the source material justice. No more directors unfamiliar with the universe, unable to bring out the best in both the actors and the universe. No, this time it’s Cavill at the helm of it all. He’s the main producer and, probably, the main star-to-be in a role as of yet unknown. But does it really matter?

If you ask the average fan, no, it doesn’t – all that matters is that Cavill has the reins. The man who spent hours upon hours painstakingly painting all the tiniest details on his Warhammer 40K figurines, the man so in love with this universe that he’s read the books (and probably taken notes while he was on it), and the man who’s given his face to several iconic roles up to now is about to do that for one more such project, and one all hope will not be botched by circumstances out of his control.

Now, the ball’s in Cavill’s court, and the expectations are incredibly high, as many, even in these early stages of this project, cannot see it fail. This brings pressure, which will undoubtedly affect everybody involved. However, as far as we can see, Cavill possesses a sincere love of Warhammer and a true desire to succeed. The only thing left to see is whether he can pull it off now that he’s in charge of the project. For thirty years he’s dreamt of the Warhammer 40,000 universe coming to life, and now he finally gets to see it through from the front row seats. For the emperor, indeed! And who needs Superman when you could be an immortal emperor of mankind?