Why the Mere Mention of an NDA by a Games Workshop Author Has Sparked All Sorts of Speculation About What Henry Cavill's Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe Might Be

The Warhammer 40,000 story, specified arsenic it is, is simply a dilatory moving beast. The scribes astatine Games Workshop sometimes instrumentality years to inch the overarching crippled forward. Take, for example, the instrumentality of beloved Primarch, Lion El'Jonson, which was announced successful March 2023. Now, implicit 2 years later, the quality is yet to bash overmuch of thing successful the setting, his hotly anticipated reunion with his brother, Roboute Guilliman, seemingly further distant than ever.

Tantalizing crippled threads are near dangling, sometimes for decades. Answers stay frustratingly retired of reach. Cliffhangers look destined to bent successful a perpetual authorities of anticipation, ne'er to beryllium fulfilled. Such is the quality of Games Workshop's grimdark 41st millennium, which has exploded successful popularity implicit the past decade. At this constituent immoderate quality connected however the communicative mightiness really determination guardant is analyzed to wrong an inch of its life, arsenic if nether probe by the Inquisition itself.

And truthful it is with the latest Facebook station by celebrated Black Library writer Dan Abnett. Abnett, possibly the astir high-profile Warhammer 40,000 writer today, is astatine the bosom of the setting’s development. His agelong database of Warhammer 40,000 books established overmuch of the lore fans cognize and love, including the fantastic Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn series, and cardinal entries successful the sprawling The Horus Heresy saga.

Let’s zero successful connected Eisenhorn, due to the fact that that’s the taxable of the latest speculation. Eisenhorn is simply a strilogy of sci-fi transgression novels that revolve astir inquisitors Gregor Eisenhorn and Gideon Ravenor, who got his ain spin-off series. The gist is the hunt heretics and daemons portion fending disconnected the brain-melting powers of Chaos. While the communicative is acceptable wrong the Warhammer 40,000 universe, it is much focused and smaller successful scope than immoderate of the other, galaxy-spanning 40K stories that impact long-running abstraction battles and thousands of Space Marines warring alien monstrosities and adjacent each other.

The Eisenhorn saga includes a spinoff bid that revolves astir an Inquisitorial cause called Alizebeth Bequin. The archetypal caller successful the Bequin series, Pariah, came retired successful 2012. Its sequel, the Warhammer 40,000 lore treasure trove that is Penitent, followed astir a decennary later, successful March 2021. The hotly anticipated 3rd caller successful the series, Pandaemonium, does not person a merchandise date, and the hold for an announcement is accelerated becoming Warhammer 40,000’s mentation of George R. R. Martin’s M.I.A. Game of Thrones book, The Winds of Winter.

Why should truthful galore Warhammer 40,000 lore lovers attraction truthful overmuch astir Pandaemonium? Because it promises to really determination the overarching crippled forward. Penitent ended with a important lore revelation (it has to bash with the individuality of the mysterious King successful Yellow, which we won’t spoil here), and truthful the ramifications of Pandaemonium could beryllium huge. Everyone wants to cognize what happens next, and is badgering Abnett to get connected and constitute the damn book.

Which brings america to now, and a seemingly innocuous Facebook station by Abnett himself promoting his attendance astatine this weekend’s Broadside Games Show successful the English municipality of Gillingham, Kent. It includes a informing of sorts:

By the way… my erstwhile posts astir this lawsuit (and, actually, beauteous overmuch thing I post) person resulted successful galore comments asking for Pandaemonium (Bequin publication 3). Positively demanding it. And I’m delighted you’re keen, due to the fact that truthful americium I. But for those who don’t know, it is not MY determination erstwhile Pandaemonium gets finished and published. For reasons an NDA prevents maine from discussing, Bequin 3 — and immoderate different things — are held up for a while. It’s coming — and I’ll beryllium delighted to bring it to you — but successful the meantime, effort to beryllium patient… and possibly effort to bask the things that I AM writing.This connection was brought to you by peace, love, and shooty-death-kill-in-space. See you Saturday.

So, Abnett is bound by a non-disclosure statement that prevents him from explaining wherefore Pandaemonium and “some different things” are “held up for a while.” That connected its ain wouldn’t warrant specified attention, but successful operation with a reddit station from March, it surely does acceptable the feline among the pigeons.

Three months ago, redditor Zigoia described a gathering helium had with Abnett astatine a publication signing successful a Warhammer store successful Maidstone, Kent. Zigoia reported that Abnett told him that the hold for Pandaemonium “is due to the fact that of the imaginable lore interaction it’s going to person connected the mounting — and is owed to GW wanting to get the lore successful the TV amusement wholly settled first. They seemingly don’t privation to extremity up having immoderate of the perchance postulation shaking events of Pandaemonium contradict what they laic retired successful the show.”

The TV show! So, this is Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe, the effect of a woody struck betwixt Games Workshop and Amazon for movies and TV shows based connected the tabletop. It’s each hugely exciting, particularly fixed Cavill’s well-documented emotion of Warhammer 40,000. Not lone is helium acceptable to prima successful immoderate comes from the project, but helium is down arsenic enforcement producer. Cavill is among those steering this ship, hopefully successful the close direction, similar the Emperor guiding humanity safely done the Warp.

We cognize adjacent to thing astir Cavill’s Warhammer 40,000 adaptation. We bash not cognize which characters it volition woody with, wherever successful the mounting it volition instrumentality place, oregon adjacent when successful the mounting it volition instrumentality place. Who volition Cavill play? We don’t know. But 1 quality is often mentioned by fans arsenic a large fit: Eisenhorn, from Abnett’s saga of the aforesaid name.

With this successful mind, it's casual to spot wherefore Abnett would beryllium tied up successful NDA knots implicit the aboriginal of his saga. If the hold to Pandaemonium is owed to Games Workshop wanting to get its Amazon ducks successful a enactment truthful the movies and TV shows slot neatly into Warhammer 40,000 canon and seasoned fans and newcomers alike aren’t faced with 2 sets of contradicting lore, you tin spot wherefore the revelations of Pandaemonium mightiness person to wait.

Unfortunately for Warhammer 40,000 lore fans, that astir apt means an adjacent longer hold for Pandaemonium than they had expected. When Games Workshop confirmed the woody successful December 2024, it said a synopsis and ordering for the stories acceptable to beryllium told successful Amazon’s Warhammer 40,000 films and tv bid was successful place. But, Games Workshop warned, “it’ll beryllium immoderate years” earlier the archetypal task hits screens. Perhaps this is wherefore the Warhammer 40,000 communicative feels similar it has crushed to a halt, with pockets of isolated developments that archer hardcore fans small they didn’t already cognize keeping america going until Pandaemonium rewrites the regularisation book.

So, to capable the gap, let’s bask immoderate amusive speculation. Does Abnett’s NDA suggest Amazon and Cavill are adapting his Eisenhorn series? Remember I mentioned it was tighter successful scope than immoderate of the grander Warhammer 40,000 stories? That mightiness marque it a much realistic adaptation for Amazon to bankroll than thing that would request The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power benignant of money, similar the gargantuan Horus Heresy.

If Amazon and Cavill person gone for Eisenhorn, possibly Abnett is progressive successful the task successful immoderate way, and frankincense Games Workshop has locked him down. Maybe Cavill is acceptable to play Eisenhorn, arsenic galore fans would like. Just this week, Cavill said helium was enjoying the situation of adapting what helium called the "tricky" and “very complex” Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. Perhaps realizing Eisenhorn successful live-action is simply a portion of that challenge.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].