Henry Cavill has got his hands on a new television franchise, and its universe is so big that it makes The Witcher‘s look small in comparison. Cavill’s time on The Witcher was a mixed bag. From the outset, Cavill was open about how much he connected with the fantasy franchise.
He fit Geralt of Rivia perfectly, and he brought emotion to the character as well as an appreciation for the material that made the show better, even as it was beginning to falter. There were still many failings the show had to contend with, though, including a refusal to stick to the source material, something that may have rankled Cavill.
Now, he has the chance to take on another fantasy franchise, and as an executive producer, he might be able to exert more creative control than before. He’ll need to have more control considering the size of the Warhammer 40K universe. If you thought The Witcher was big, just wait until you see the grim darkness of the future.
Cavill has been trying to get a Warhammer 40K show made for years, and in late 2022, he finally found a network interested enough to pay for the rights in Amazon. He is set to star and produce the upcoming series. While we know very little about it, we do know Amazon is already planning an animated spinoff.
The Warhammer 40K universe is not The Witcher universe. They may both be fantasy shows, but Warhammer 40K is a story told over thousands of years, across hundreds of planets. If Cavill had thoughts about The Witcher universe, he probably has hundreds of thoughts about a universe the size of Warhammer 40K‘s.
Henry Cavill Is Entering A Universe Even More Immense Than The Witcher
The Warhammer 40K universe first began in the late 1980s, and since then, there has been an explosion of lore, books, video games, expansion packs, and more as the universe continues to evolve. Because Warhammer 40K is a tabletop miniature wargame, there is a business incentive to make as much lore as possible.
The more lore there is, the more stories, the more characters, the more minis Games Workshop can sell. Unlike in other franchises, the canon of the universe doesn’t always have to be strictly adhered to. Games Workshop wants to sell evil Orks as much as they want to sell “good guy” Space Marines, so any army can win at any time.
This makes for a massive universe of constant victories and failures, and little in the way of a plot. While this is a fantastic setting to play in, it also makes it impossible to ever tell every story. That’s something that Cavill has not had to contend with before, even on a show like The Witcher.
Warhammer Can Give Henry Cavill What The Witcher Never Could
Cavill’s struggles with The Witcher mirror the struggles that fans have had with the series, how far it has strayed from the rich lore of the universe. There’s nothing wrong with making your own stories, but The Witcher has not justified its changes with good storytelling.
Cavill is more in the driver’s seat for the Warhammer 40K TV universe, even a producer for the upcoming animated series. With Cavill as a guiding force behind the camera, the Warhammer 40K TV shows should have a more coherent and lore-friendly storytelling style than The Witcher series.