Warhammer 40K: GW and Amazon Have Five Months To Agree On A Deal or Henry Cavill’s Shows Get Scrapped

The Warhammer 40,000 TV shows are on a short deadline… or else.

Last year fans of Warhammer 40,000 were excited when news of a deal between Games Workshop and Amazon/Prime Video to produce 40K movies and shows broke. At the time there were few details about what was happening, other than that longtime 40K, and fan favorite, actor Henry Cavill would be involved. What shows or movies could get made remained a mystery, though plenty of people had ideas. It was clearly early days for things, and people have been waiting for an update. Well, it is months later, and we really don’t have much more info, though these things do take time. However, a few notes in GW’s recent annual report could mean dicey business for the shows’ futures and fan hopes.

Five More Months or Bust

The section in question can be found on page 10 of GW’s 2023-2024 annual report. Under “Entertainment” it clarifies that the agreement signed with Amazon was for the two parties to work together for 12 months to agree on “creative guidelines”. If these are not agreed on, the projects will not move forward. This deadline bit was not mentioned, in GW original announcement on Warhammer Community. It does get a mention in their 2023-2024 half year report. However, since that came out only a few weeks after the agreement was signed most people ignored that aspect.

The inclusion of this, rather than any other update, in the annual report strongly implies that an agreement has not yet been reached. Now GW and Amazon only have until December of this year, December 18th, 2024 if it is exactly 12 months, to come to an agreement. If they don’t, the whole project is off and there will be no shows or movies.

What Is The Status of The GW/Amazon Agreement?

Right now we have no idea what the status of any agreement is. We can be fairly sure that one has not yet been finalized, or the annual report would have been worded differently. This seems like there may be stormclouds on the horizon. The two companies have seven months to work on it. That they have not yet come to agreement is not a positive sign. On the other hand, we don’t know how close they could be to striking a deal. It could be a day off, or it could be going nowhere.

We also don’t have any idea what the issues they are trying to agree on are. The best guess is, how much creative freedom Amazon has with the Warhammer 40K IP. GW, like Disney, is famously protective of its’ IP. It seems likely that they do not want Amazon to have too much freedom to change lore and background details willy-nilly. Amazon shows like The Boys, The Expanse (the latter seasons) and The Rings of Power for example, have all made very major changes from the source materials. GW could be worried about similar changes. They also may just want to have a final say on any changes. However, this remains speculation at this point.

GW Would Be Foolish To Not Come To An Agreement

We obviously can’t know right now which side is holding up an agreement. Yet it seems right now that Games Workshop would be very foolish to let this opportunity pass. Not only is there likely a lot of profit for GW on the table, both from the initial and future projects, but much more. Warhammer is just starting to break into the mainstream. This is a big moment for it and having Amazon shows would push it over. Look at Amazon’s The Boys which took an edgy niche comic series and made it mainstream. Or Game of Thrones. That is where Games Workshop seems to be standing, on the precipice of becoming something much, much bigger than wargaming.

via Games Workshop

A deal like this done right could be as transformative for GW, as getting into movies was for Marvel. And risk really does seem to mostly be on GW’s side right now. If the deal falls though, no Amazon Fans (is there such a thing?) will blame them. However, GW fans, will blame GW (because they always do). There will be a backlash and a lot of disappointment. Those looking forward to these projects, and Cavill’s involvement, will feel hurt and betrayed.  So failing to come to agreement will cost GW not just money, but status, goodwill and a huge opportunity. Let’s hope they can get things worked out. The clock is ticking…

They’ve got five months, lets do this!

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.