‘Man In The High Castle’ producer to bring Warhammer to screen

The Man In The High Castle producer Frank Spotnitz is to bring the game Warhammer to screen via a partnership with Games Workshop.

Spotnitz’s Big Light Productions has partnered with Warhammer developer Games Workshop to develop Eisenhorn, a live-action sci-fi and fantasy series that will be based on the popular Warhammer 40,000 games, miniatures and novels.

Spotnitz will serve as both showrunner and EP on the project, which is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, where mankind teeters on the brink of annihilation.

The Eisenhorn series is based on novels written by author Dan Abnett (Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men). Originally published in 2001 by Games Workshop’s publishing imprint Black Library, the books have been reprinted in multiple languages and have sold more than 500,000 copies globally.

Big Light Productions’ creative director Emily Feller will also exec produce the series.

Frank Spotnitz, showrunner and Big Light Productions CEO, said: “Warhammer 40,000 is steeped in rich and complex lore, with a myriad of traditions and stories that have accumulated over time in this thrilling and complex world, making it one of the most exciting properties to adapt for television audiences and the franchise’s loyal global fanbase. There is nothing else like it on television, and we are incredibly excited to tap into our own experience creating imaginative, complex and compelling worlds to bring this incredible saga to the screen.”

Andy Smillie, Games Workshop’s global head of marketing and media, added: “Warhammer 40,000 has a massive global fanbase – they are a passionate community of Warhammer hobbyists who love to engage with our characters, stories and games. I’m truly delighted we are able to develop a show that will reward their loyalty. Inquisitor Eisenhorn represents one of the best-loved characters within our worlds, and we’re excited to share his exploits and adventures with audiences new and old. Frank and his outstanding team at Big Light have done amazing things with other properties, bringing complex worlds to the screen, and we can’t wait to see what our partnership produces for the grim darkness of Warhammer 40,000.”

Author Dan Abnett added: “Gregor Eisenhorn is a relentless force in the dark future of the Warhammer universe: a destroyer of daemons and a purger of heretics, implacable, powerful and dedicated. But the appeal to me, from the moment I started writing him, was his complexity. He is not the simple, ruthless hero he appears to be. His battle with the Warp leads him into dark places and forces him to question his duty, his understanding of the Imperium, and his own identity. With Eisenhorn, it’s not just the adventures, and they are certainly vivid: it’s the journey he takes to the very limits of what he is and what it means to be loyal.”