Henry Cavill, the world’s most famous Warhammer 40,000 fan, is like so many others enjoying the recently released Space Marine 2.
In an Instagram post, the Superman and Witcher star praised the developers at Saber Interactive for the action game set in Games Workshop’s grimdark universe, although revealed he failed to complete the campaign solo on the Angel of Death difficulty, which is the hardest of the four difficulties available.
As we can see from the photo, Cavill is currently big into Space Marine 2’s PvP mode, dubbed Eternal War. We can see him matchmaking on the PC version of the game, although the actor was smart enough to paste over his username with the word “nope.” Yes, that means you could be playing with or against Henry Cavill in Space Marine 2 PvP and you’d never know it.
Space Marine 2’s PvP, Cavill said, “has real potential to be absolutely awesome,” but he admits he knows nothing about video game development.
“Disclaimer: I know nothing about game development so the kind of dreams I have may be rather difficult to implement!” he said.
Also of note, Cavill is playing as an Ultramarine Tactical class, and he’s got a copy of The Horus Heresy Book Two on his table. The book contains rules and special characters for the pre-Heresy Iron Hands, Salamanders, Night Lords, and Word Bearers Legions, which I’m sure will set tongues wagging among the Warhammer 40,000 community.
It might make sense for Cavill to be submerged in the Warhammer 40,000 universe right now. Games Workshop recently reiterated that Amazon’s hotly anticipated Warhammer 40,000 film and TV series, to which Cavill is attached, will not happen unless both companies can agree “creative guidelines” by December 2024.
In December 2023, Games Workshop said it would work with Amazon for a period of 12 months ending in December 2024 “to agree creative guidelines for the films and television series to be developed by Amazon.” And that agreement “will only proceed if the creative guidelines are mutually agreed between Games Workshop and Amazon.”
“We will update you accordingly,” Games Workshop said, like a Space Marine might tell a Guardsman anxious about a coming battle. That means Games Workshop and Amazon have just a few months to sort themselves out, or the Warhammer 40,000 movie and TV series fans so desperately want might never happen.
If the Warhammer 40,000 Amazon projects move forward, Cavill will be involved. The Hollywood actor is set to star in and executive produce the Warhammer 40,000 franchise across all Amazon Studios productions.
While concrete details on shows and films are likely a way off, Cavill nonetheless sounded excited to be bringing Warhammer 40,000 to life. “I have loved Warhammer since I was a boy, making this moment truly special for me. The opportunity to shepherd this cinematic universe from its inception is quite the honor and the responsibility,” said Cavill. “I couldn’t be more grateful for all the hard work put in by Vertigo, Amazon and Games Workshop to make this happen. One step closer to making a nigh-on lifelong dream come true.”
In February, Cavill touched again on the Warhammer 40,000 Amazon project, saying: “It is the greatest privilege of my professional career to have this opportunity. I can’t say too much, again, it’s early days still. But to have this opportunity to bring it to screen, and be at the tiller so it can be faithful, is key to me.
“This is the stuff I’ve been dealing with since I was a kid. This is the stuff I spend my free time daydreaming about, as an adult as well, and I get to bring it into life. There is no greater reason than I joined the industry than doing something like this.”
Warhammer 40,000 is Games Workshop’s science fiction universe used as the setting for its hugely popular tabletop wargame starring the iconic Space Marines. It’s a grimdark universe in which humanity clings on to survival in the face of terrifying threats within and without the fascist Imperium.
Who might Cavill play across the Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe? Talking to IGN in 2021, Cavill expressed interest in playing one of the Primarchs or Captain-Generals, who are high-ranking key characters from the Warhammer lore.
As for Space Marine 2, be sure to check out IGN’s interview with Saber development chief Tim Willits to find out what the game’s success means for DLC and a potential Space Marine 3.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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