Eisenhorn - Warhammer 40k Inquisitor series

[ctg]

The grim dark future of the 41st Millennium is coming to live-action television for the first time—and Games Workshop has recruited the creator behind Amazon’s Man in the High Castle adaptation, Frank Spotnitz, to do so.

Announced today by the wardens of the Warhammer 40K and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar tabletop gaming franchises—and the vast multimedia empire of books, comics, games, and other adaptations behind them—Spotnitz’s Big Light Productions will helm a live-action TV show based around the character of Gregor Eisenhorn.

Eisenhorn isn’t one of the giant, armor-clad Space Marines that defend the human empire of the gory, 41st millennium Warhammer 40,000 is set in. Instead, he’s an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos—a free-roaming agent of the God-Emperor of Mankind that goes about hunting down the taint of daemons and other alien influences from Humanity and its vast, but ever-dwindling Imperium.

The Creator of Man in the High Castle Is Bringing Warhammer 40,000 to Live-Action TV

I wonder will they show whole 40k universe as it is, or will they cut corners?

 

[BAYLOR]

Ive read Eisenhrn . It will make a great tv series !

 

[ctg]

Ive read Eisenhrn . It will make a great tv series !

Do you think there is a need for a lot of explanation as I am assuming there are a number of people, who know absolutely nothing about WH40k universe? To be honest, I cannot think any other universe, where so many books has been written, and it takes a lot to know all of it, especially as the normal people know nothing about Chaos, Tau, Dark Eldars or Tyranids. The other thing is that the Imperium of Man is so far out in the right, that it might cause problems for some people to accept the WH40k universe as non racist, when it's supremely racist against other species.

 

[BAYLOR]

Do you think there is a need for a lot of explanation as I am assuming there are a number of people, who know absolutely nothing about WH40k universe? To be honest, I cannot think any other universe, where so many books has been written, and it takes a lot to know all of it, especially as the normal people know nothing about Chaos, Tau, Dark Eldars or Tyranids. The other thing is that the Imperium of Man is so far out in the right, that it might cause problems for some people to accept the WH40k universe as non racist, when it's supremely racist against other species.

I think the audience will tune in and probably like the show and the characters and they will taken to accost that the 40K Imperium is what it is. I do think they the should not weigh things done with too much backstory

If this shoewis hit , maybe well Get Gaunt's Ghosts or maybe a Caiphis Cain the series.

 

[Vince W]

All I can say is that it had better be better than the Ultramarines film. But how could it not be?

Gaunt's Ghosts and Caiphis Cain would both make great series, but I would love to see them tackle some Battlefleet Gothic. I love a good space battle.

 

[BAYLOR]

All I can say is that it had better be better than the Ultramarines film. But how could it not be?

Gaunt's Ghosts and Caiphis Cain would both make great series, but I would love to see them tackle some Battlefleet Gothic. I love a good space battle.

It's too bad Gaunt's and Cain doesn't exist in the same timeframe . It would be fun have them run into each other .

 

[Foxbat]

Although I knew people into Warhammer, I never could get into it myself (much preferred board strategy games). I always thought the figures etc. looked great, however, so I'll have to check this out sometime

 

[Rodders]

This will be a very expensive TV show, but done right it has the makings of being an epic SF series. I wonder how much involvement Dan Abnett will have on this?

I still haven't seen the movie, but I want to even though I haven't heard anything good about it.

Warhammer 40, 000 is such a rich and detailed universe.

 

[Toby Frost]

I'm not sure. I think there are elements of 40k background that are beloved of the younger fans, but when put on screen could just look silly. Space Marines are about 8 feet tall, have weird proportions and spit acid. That would look absurd (so too would the immense skulls everywhere, which appear to be the main crop of the 40k world, like turnips). I hope they tone down the cartoony quality, but doing so will make some fans very angry.

I've always thought that 40k would make a good animation - ie a drawn cartoon. Its purest form seems to be the concept sketches of John Blanche and Jes Goodwin, and something like that would capture the atmosphere very well.

 

[Vince W]

Space Marines wouldn't look any sillier than ST: Discovery's Klingons. Woof!

 

[ctg]

I've always thought that 40k would make a good animation - ie a drawn cartoon. Its purest form seems to be the concept sketches of John Blanche and Jes Goodwin, and something like that would capture the atmosphere very well.

If you have not seen the 40k space marine movies, I warmly recommend them as they are brilliantly animated, even if the story has some trimmings. Then again almost all of the 40k stories are one way or another somehow weird. Here is one of the fan films made on the subject

 

[BAYLOR]

I'm not sure. I think there are elements of 40k background that are beloved of the younger fans, but when put on screen could just look silly. Space Marines are about 8 feet tall, have weird proportions and spit acid. That would look absurd (so too would the immense skulls everywhere, which appear to be the main crop of the 40k world, like turnips). I hope they tone down the cartoony quality, but doing so will make some fans very angry.

I've always thought that 40k would make a good animation - ie a drawn cartoon. Its purest form seems to be the concept sketches of John Blanche and Jes Goodwin, and something like that would capture the atmosphere very well.

Or maybe anime ?

 

[Vince W]

Or maybe anime ?

By the Emperor's hairy gonads no! Anime is the wrong medium for W40K. Live-action or don't bother.

 

[BAYLOR]

By the Emperor's hairy gonads no! Anime is the wrong medium for W40K. Live-action or don't bother.

Yes I would like to see live action but, I think Warmer 40k is also conducive to Anime. Id like to see the people who did StarBlazers 2199 give it try. Ot how about the people who did Gundam or Appleseed doing a film about the Titans?

Or how both people who did Vampire Hunter D , Imaging them doing Eisenhorn or Ravenor ?

 

[Toby Frost]

Here is one of the fan films made on the subject

Those are extremely well-animated - but they do reflect what feels like a fundamental problem for Warhammer: it tends to be about space marines, and once you've got past the Greatest Warrior Ever stuff, they're actually rather dull. There's only a certain amount of massive robot-men hitting each other that anyone can take, and the qualities that make for a good miniature aren't those that make for a good character. Hats off to those authors who can write the space marines convincingly, as a character who has no fear, no sex drive and feels nothing except unerring loyalty is extremely hard to portray in an interesting way.

The 40k setting - influenced as it is by Dune, Aliens and medival Catholicism - is an interesting one, and I'm glad that they've gone for the Inquisition, who may be crazy, but at least have the normal range of human motivations. A mixture of John le Carre and The Name of the Rose in space, with gunfights, could be pretty entertaining.

 

[Vince W]

Those are extremely well-animated - but they do reflect what feels like a fundamental problem for Warhammer: it tends to be about space marines, and once you've got past the Greatest Warrior Ever stuff, they're actually rather dull. There's only a certain amount of massive robot-men hitting each other that anyone can take, and the qualities that make for a good miniature aren't those that make for a good character. Hats off to those authors who can write the space marines convincingly, as a character who has no fear, no sex drive and feels nothing except unerring loyalty is extremely hard to portray in an interesting way.

The 40k setting - influenced as it is by Dune, Aliens and medival Catholicism - is an interesting one, and I'm glad that they've gone for the Inquisition, who may be crazy, but at least have the normal range of human motivations. A mixture of John le Carre and The Name of the Rose in space, with gunfights, could be pretty entertaining.

I agree that the Inquisition is a great place to start, I wouldn't write off the Space Marines as a possibility. If you look at the Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Black Templar there are some interesting things that could be worked into some stories. Even my own goody goody Ultramarines are not without strangeness.