Last year, Games Workshop took one of its biggest steps yet at trying to turn its tabletop wargaming world into a transmedia franchise with the announcement of Eisenhorn, the first live-action television series adaptation of the grim dark world of Warhammer 40,000. While that’s still a glimmer in an inquisitorial eye, there’s already another in early stages.
Slipped into a long and winding Warhammer Community piece about Games Workshop’s new media ident—the brand imagery that will proceed all of GW’s new transmedia adventures, whether it’s the animated Death Angels series in development, Eisenhorn, or now this new show should it see the light of day—head of the recently-established Warhammer Media, Andy Smillie, confirmed that early plans have been drafted for a second show set in the far flung future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
“It’s no secret that we’re working on some really exciting projects right now,” Smillie remarked. “We’re animating Angels of Death, developing Eisenhorn for live-action, and have just put pen to paper on a 40K anthology show. Actually, don’t quote me on that last one—it’s not announced yet. We really wanted a Warhammer ident so that, when people are watching one of our shows, they’ll know that what they’re seeing is part of the Warhammer brand. It’s a mark of quality, if you will, something to tie what you see on your screen to the Warhammer hobby and to Games Workshop.”
So yes: there is a Warhammer 40,000 anthology series in the works. That’s literally all we know. No details, no distributor, no creative talent like there was with the Eisenhorn annoucement—which in and of itself included several repeated reminders that even that show was in the earliest possible stages of development, so this one must be even earlier. It’s an anthology show. But 40K.
What that might mean though? Hopefully, stories sent in this bonkersly over-the-top world that aren’t being told from the perspective of humanity and its legions of (obscenely popular, hence why we always get stories about them) genetically enhanced religious warriors, the Space Marines. There are so many cool and weird factions at play in the galaxy of 40K, whether it’s the fallen-from-grace empire of the Eldar, the alien swarm-mind of the sinister Tyranids, or the mecha-piloting castes of the Tau. Also: there are Orks! In! Spaaaaaace!
Getting to see tales told that investigate and explore these cultures beyond “endless enemies of the Imperium of Man” in an anthology format could celebrate the wonderful variety of Games Workshop’s myriad takes on sci-fi and fantastical tropes, and remind people that there is more to the mayhem of 40K than Big Men in Big Shoulderpads with Big Guns. Sometimes those guns can fire lasers. Sometimes they’re held by psychic space elves!
Oh, who am I kidding. Each episode will focus on a different chapter of the Space Marines, probably. We’ll bring you more on Games Workshop’s plans for Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar beyond beautiful, expensive plastic models as and when we learn it.
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