Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40K Series Just Got a Cryptic Update From Mike Flanagan

Nov 02, 2026 - 20:07

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Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40K Series Just Got a Cryptic Update From Mike Flanagan

Published Nov 2, 2026, 11:11 AM EST

Willa Rowe is a contributing writer at Polygon, covering games and entertainment. She is a New York-based journalist and critic whose work has been featured in Kotaku, Digital Trends, the A.V. Club, GamesRadar+, and more. She also co-hosts the Girl Mode podcast.

Flanagan is 'sworn to secrecy,' but he's teasing info anyway

You probably know Mike Flanagan as one of the modern masters of cinematic horror. He's the person behind Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Hill House, the latest Carrie adaptation, and he even wrote the script for DC's Clayface. When he isn't thinking about the next Stephen King story he can bring to the screen, Flanagan is hard at work on an entirely different project: Warhammer 40K.

Earlier this year, the news broke that Amazon is working on a live-action series adaptation of the tabletop game (which has also expanded into video games, books, and more) with Henry Cavill and Flanagan attached. Cavill is an outspoken fan of the game and will star in the series in addition to producing it. Production company United Artists is also involved in the project. The adaptation is likely years away, according to a financial report from Warhammer creator Games Workshop.

Mike Flanagan almost gave fans a big spoiler on his Warhammer 40k show

In a recent interview with Deadline, Flanagan discussed the unique challenge of adapting Warhammer 40K, saying, "It’s so big. There are 700 novels, discounting the [tabletop] game, the interactive elements, and so much of the rest of the lore.” But Flanagan revealed the team had found "a very cool and unexpected on-ramp." He was hesitant to share more information beyond that, joking that Henry Cavill would be furious if he shared anything.

This August, it was revealed that Amazon is also developing an animated Warhammer 40K series. It will serve as a spin-off of the Warhammer episode in the anthology series Secret Level. Henry Cavill will serve as an executive producer ahead of the live-action series. Dave Wilson, who directed the Secret Level episode, will return as co-creator and director of the new series alongside John Orloff. It will follow The Deathwatch, an elite group of Space Marines.

Amazon is currently betting big on a number of video game adaptations. These include God of War with Dave Bautista, Tomb Raider with Sophie Turner, and a Life is Strange series that recently wrapped filming. A Mass Effect series also remains in development even after EA shut down BioWare and canceled the next game in the series.