James Gunn's new plans for the DC Universe killed Man of Steel 2 and that version of Superman (for now). Still, fans who thought Henry Cavill left The Witcher for that role may have been half right, because now he's working on a Warhammer 40,000 "cinematic universe" at Amazon Studios.The once and future Geralt of Rivia (Cavill appears in the forthcoming Season 3) loved both the books and video games, actively campaigning for the role. However, if he loves a game more than The Witcher series, it's Warhammer 40K. A sci-fi tabletop role-playing game with extensive miniatures, it's a 35-year-old universe with a fanbase that makes DC and The Witcher fans seem like erudite scholars debating civilly at one of those clubs where everyone has to wear the same jacket. The fandom perhaps most akin to the Warhammer adherents is Star Wars. There are many generations of fans, and they're all angry at the parent company -- Games Workshop rather than Disney -- for something. If Cavill's geek clout and lessons learned promoting his last series can be marshaled to their full ability? The Warhammer Cinematic Universe could become huge.
How Fans Handle Inevitable Lore Changes in the Warhammer Series Could Make or Break It
Along with Henry Cavill, Warhammer super-fans Rahul Kohli and Asa Butterfield also are game for an adaptation. Franchise owner, Games Workshop, definitely wants its famous fans involved in the series, especially if it prefers the series to hew closely to already published books. Yet, no matter how faithful everyone wants it to be, any adaptation will have to make changes. Sometimes fans overlook this. An already fractious fanbase may be just looking for a reason to be angry, especially when cheered on by clickbait and YouTube trolls. Luckily, Cavill already went through this with The Witcher.
While Cavil is effusive in his praise for the source material, showrunner Lauren Hissrich is accused of hating it. One reason she faces this critique is for highlighting women's perspectives since the show wasn't bound by the 3rd-person-POV narrative structure of the books and games. Another is that known characters were killed before they were supposed to be or were rewritten entirely. This, of course, happened on Game of Thrones, but unlike George R.R. Martin, Andrzej Sapkowski isn't doing press cheerleading for the show. This drama began back in the casting phase when all characters weren't white and Northern European. Warhammer parent company Games Workshop already had to address this particular issue in a 2020 statement affirming their commitment to diversity.
If Cavill and company are able to get ahead of any big story changes (meaning not letting it leak online first) their fan-cred could help smooth potentially choppy waters. However, when it comes to fandoms like these, there's sometimes nothing that anyone could say. It's not what was done, it's any change at all they're angry about.
Amazon Studio's Warhammer Universe Is Getting a Cavill With Something To Prove
There are few things likely able to soften the blow of losing out on the chance to play Superman again for a second time. Yet, being able to spearhead the creation of an adaptation of one his favorite properties has to be some kind of balm for Henry Cavill. Also, his time on The Witcher hopefully proves instructive when the rollout for this series happens. The real tricky part of the equation is Games Workshop. While plenty of fan critiques are just sour grapes, Games Workshop's relationship with the fandom is more contentious.
Perhaps the biggest problem relevant to the series is Games Workshop's "zero tolerance" policy on fan films, animated or otherwise. Extremely popular creators on YouTube and elsewhere helped Warhammer find new audiences, only for their content to quietly disappear or go behind the company's own paywall at the Warhammer TV site. The company's best asset, however, is that Henry Cavill arrives here with something to prove. From his take on Superman to the show's take on Geralt, Cavill is armed with what he needs to help the Warhammer 40K series avoid the same missteps.
Adapting this story -- grim, dark and full of (sadly relevant) socio-political themes -- will be a challenge. However, perhaps more than ever before in his career, Henry Cavill is up to the challenge.