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Theory Time: What Would a Warhammer Movie’s Plot Be?

hor of space marine and chaos

Depending on who you ask Warhammer players are still waiting for a movie to come along that captures the hearts and minds of players and non-players everywhere. Question is, what would the plot be?

It’s fairly safe to assume most Warhammer players have been in a discussion about, or at least toyed with the thought, of a 40k-centric movie at some point or another.

A long-time wish for a large demographic of the hobby-centric fanbase, these discussions only increased in frequency with the release of Warcraft, the 2016 film of the popular classic Blizzard Entertainment game of the same name.

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Let’s say it happens, and let’s say the people behind it were competent. What would be the ideal storyline to partake? Let’s jump into theorizing.

A movie in the Warhammer 40k universe would have to appeal to both newcomers and long-time fans alike, so the plot could not tap into something too niche for the uninformed, or too predictable for those who are familiar with the grim darkness of the far future. Writing a story is always an option, but using an existing one from the millions of stories and lore would be too good to pass up, as well as a good opportunity to tap into utilizing existing characters. But which story would be best?

horus heresy art

One thing should be stated outright: as much as a Horus Heresy movie would be appreciated, it fails to tap into the market of people unfamiliar with 40k and, even then, not every player is interested in the stories of betrayal in the universe of 30k. The ideal story would be one that revolves around the war-like state of 40k, as well as representing many of the things iconic in its universe; Xenos, Space Marines, the state of the Imperium of Man, the heroes that lead their men to glory.

The two burning questions being: who are our heroes, and which enemies would be the better choice for a film? The former would most likely be determined by the latter in the case of 40k. Arguably, in this case, the most iconic antagonists are of three choices: Orks, Eldar, and Chaos, assuming we’re using the Imperium as our protagonists, the smarter choice for a film meant to appeal to new audiences. Eldar would be complicated in their presentation. Having to weave a motivation for haughty space elves even with a pre-written story could prove to be problematic without explaining some backstory. Chaos is more appealing for an enemy, but a first film, having Space grunts VS. Evil Space grunts could show to be somewhat uninspired.

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Which leads us to the ever-classic iconic fantasy enemy: Orks. But how do we make them an interesting enemy in a world with so many stories? The answer lies in focussing on an existing Ork character to drive the plot, and tales of heroism in the Imperium to combat them. Enter: Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka and the Second War of Armageddon. There are a number of reasons this could be the perfect setpiece for a film plot for 40k: it is one of the more iconic wars, it features a healthy amount of known characters to concentrate on, including one as a leading antagonist, and its timeline lends very nicely to a movie structure.

The film could easily start with the Imperial Guard fighting off the invasion force of Orks, utilizing the famous Commissar Yarrick as a protagonist and Ghazghkull as our big baddie. Utilizing normal humans against Orks could set the tone and brutality of the war, as well as providing setpieces with the planet’s rust storm-battered plains, hive cities, and manufactorums. Betrayal as a plot point could add a twist with Colonel Von Strabb, and of course, nearly a hopeless point for the Imperium, the forces of Space Marines could arrive to revive the Imperium’s efforts in an exciting arrival with Drop Pods and Thunderhawks.

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Familiar, iconic characters could be presented after their arrival, including Dante, and Grimaldus, having them join the cast to fight back the Green Tide of Orks on the planet. As a nice addition, a flashback could also be shown of the First War of Armageddon, a wonderful opportunity to show the audience the forces of Chaos, traitor legions, and daemons fighting against the stalwart forces of Space Marines and Grey Knights as further insight to the lore-rich universe of 40k.

Of course, this is only one suggestion out of many options, the stories of 40k never failing to run out, but this specific story could serve as a wonderful starting point as insight to the wars, characters, and rich world of Warhammer 40,000. What stories would you suggest work in a Warhammer 40k film?

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About the Author: Chris Lien