Games Workshop: Mike Flanagan Joins Amazon’s Warhammer 40,000 Series With Cavill
Games Workshop has confirmed that horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan has joined Amazon’s long-delayed live-action Warhammer 40,000 adaptation starring Henry Cavill, with the update buried inside the tabletop giant’s annual financial results published this week. According to the company’s 2025–2026 shareholder report, chief executive Kevin Rountree revealed that Amazon has brought on both Flanagan and its in-house production arm United Artists, while Cavill and production partner Vertigo Entertainment remain attached to the project.
Flanagan has already worked on initial outlines, with the project expected to move into the scripting stage soon, while Rountree also specifically confirmed that Cavill and Vertigo “remain involved as they have been for some time,” putting to rest fan speculation that the actor may have quietly stepped away after years of silence on the project. The update marks the first substantial creative news on the adaptation since Amazon and Games Workshop finalised their production agreement in December 2024.
Rountree Warns the Warhammer 40,000 Series Is Still Years Away
Despite the progress, Games Workshop was careful to temper expectations about a release date. “This is a long-term partnership with Amazon – and these adaptations will take years to bring successfully to market,” Rountree said in the report, referring to the wider slate of films and television projects the two companies are developing together.
Exactly what format the Flanagan-fronted project will take, whether a television series or a feature film, and which corner of the sprawling 40K lore it will adapt first, has not been disclosed. There is still an element of mystery here, as exactly what Flanagan is developing remains under wraps.
Who Is Involved: Cavill, Vertigo and United Artists
Cavill has been attached to the project as star and executive producer since the original deal was struck in December 2022, when Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Natalie Viscuso partnered with the actor to secure the rights before pitching the show to Amazon. Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Natalie Viscuso partnered with Cavill to secure the Warhammer 40,000 IP before they took it to Amazon, with Vertigo executive producing alongside Games Workshop’s Andy Smillie and Max Bottrill and Amazon MGM.
United Artists, Amazon MGM’s in-house production banner, has now formally joined the partnership as well. Flanagan himself is best known for horror television, including The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass and The Fall of the House of Usher, alongside film work such as Doctor Sleep and 2024’s The Life of Chuck, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. He is currently juggling several other high-profile projects, including a Stephen King Carrie series for Prime Video and The Exorcist: Martyrs for Blumhouse and Universal.
Record Profits, Falling Licensing Revenue
The Flanagan news arrived alongside Games Workshop’s full-year financial results, which showed record revenue and profit but also a sharp licensing slowdown that spooked investors. Revenue increased 6.8% to £659.7 million in the 52 weeks to 31 May, from £617.5 million a year earlier, while pre-tax profit rose 4.9% to a record £275.7 million.
However, licensing revenue dropped 37% to £32.9 million from £52.5 million, while licensing operating profit fell to £29.9 million from £49.5 million, a decline the company attributed to the previous year’s boost from the blockbuster launch of the video game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Shares in Games Workshop fell despite the record top-line numbers, with the stock falling 5.5% to 19,100p as the Warhammer maker reported record annual sales and profit, even as the Amazon update landed.
Animated Deathwatch Series and Secret Level Season 2 Also Confirmed
The live-action update wasn’t the only screen news buried in the report. Games Workshop also confirmed a Warhammer 40K animated series is on the way, featuring the Space Marines faction Deathwatch and written by Masters of the Air screenwriter John Orloff. Studio animation house Blur is attached to bring the Deathwatch project to screen.
Separately, the report confirmed that Prime Video’s Secret Level Season 2 will feature Warhammer Age of Sigmar, further expanding Games Workshop’s on-screen footprint. Together, the announcements represent the clearest sign yet that Games Workshop is treating its screen adaptations as a genuine second growth pillar alongside its core tabletop miniatures business, rather than a side licensing experiment.
What It Means for the Long-Suffering Warhammer Faithful
For a fanbase that has waited more than three and a half years since Cavill’s involvement was first revealed, confirmation of a named writer with completed outlines is the most concrete sign of momentum the project has offered. Local Warhammer hobbyists across New Zealand and Australia, home to an active Games Workshop retail and tournament scene, will likely see the update as validation that Amazon’s investment in the IP is still very much alive, even if a release date remains firmly out of reach.
With Flanagan’s Prime Video Carrie series set to premiere on October 7 and his schedule already stacked with Warner Bros. and Blumhouse commitments, patience will remain the operative word for anyone hoping to see the Imperium of Man rendered in live action any time soon.
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