If there was going to be a TV show based on 40k what would it be about? I personally think the only choice is either DH or RT. And I'm leaning toward DH. Any Space Marine show would be to hack and slash I think, unless you did it about the politics and interactions of the Chapters. Same goes for OW. Although now that I think about it RT would be pretty good and you could use a lot of the same sets. Let me know what you think.

OW is war drama. M*A*S*H is about "Only War" for example.

So you shouldn't just disregard OW as a setting.

WOW the image of the MASH cast with mechadendrites and installing cyber wear in the 40k universe I saw when you posted that was chilling.

And what about A-Team where unjustly declared guilty Guardsman squad fights corrupted Administratum?

After all, to make a show about OW you can just take Gaunt or Cain stories and put them on screen.

I would think an A-team show would be a bit more DH. The A-team was never seen out in actual open warfare for the most part. But I see your point. I just had a horrible flash of some museum in the future showing the A-team as the high point in American culture.

Chances are it would be done by someone who isn't sure if the 40K IP can make a profitable TV series. Which means low budget. So probably something focused on members of the Inquisition, or at least people doing some sort of investigation. They could spend a lot of time in one location investigating, maybe a whole season investigating a single cult at a single location so they can also show the character of that location. That lets them keep reusing a lot of sets and costumes. Makeup can be kept cheap as most characters are just humans. That lets them save up the special effects budget for the climatic battle at the end of the investigation.

A large part of the Cain novels is his inner monologue and Amberly's footnotes. Things that would be difficult to do in a TV series.

That's kinda what I was thinking. If you have to have Space Marines interact with normal sized humans you'd spend a lot on special effects, either that or change the height of a Space Marine to human normal, which I am sure no fan boy would have a problem with.

They'd do a sat morning cartoon with space marines. This is why we don't ever want to see one.

It would be exactly like this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roughnecks:_Starship_Troopers_Chronicles

If you want proof, then look at 'Ultramarine'. Think of that as a pilot. The quality was low enough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarines:_A_Warhammer_40,000_Movie

Chances are it would be done by someone who isn't sure if the 40K IP can make a profitable TV series. Which means low budget. So probably something focused on members of the Inquisition, or at least people doing some sort of investigation.

On one hand, I would absolutely expect low budget. But on the other, considering that we're talking about Warhammer 40k, I have a hunch the production would invariably focus on Space Marines, simply because this army is the poster boys for the entire franchise and Games Workshop has neglected to portray the other factions in a similarly appealing (to the general audience) light.

Yes, I think it would be a mistake, and that a show about either Dark Heresy (grimdark investigation with a touch of horror -- The X-Files with boltguns) or Rogue Trader (visiting, exploring and exploiting new worlds -- it's Star Trek with a machiavellian twist) would be a lot better, but given how showbiz works, I would not expect the publisher to make the sensible choice. Perhaps because the majority of the fanbase, utterly disinterested in anything that isn't SPESS MEHREENS, wouldn't either.

Only War would work nicely for a show as well; think " Tour of Duty " or " Above and Beyond " with a bunch of <insert various IG regiments here>. Long term appeal would depend even more on writing and characters than the DH and RT options outlined above, though, simply due to the show's focus on warfare.

If you want proof, then look at 'Ultramarine'. Think of that as a pilot. The quality was low enough.

Ehh, I think that movie catches more flak than it should. Yes, it was cheesy, but .. come on, this is Space Marines we're talking about. 90% of their novels are like that.

It was bolter porn in movie format, but at least it was an enjoyable popcorn flick to watch once.

I fully agree with Lynata, that while I think it would be the worse choice, I think that Space Marines would be what is chosen, full of ridiculous unrealistic violence and very poor and nonsensical dialogue. Which is a shame given the sheer breadth of 40K lore there are so many interesting angles to cover, though some if put on film might incur copyright infringements .

I have to disagree whole heartedly on the Ultramarine movie though, that was not an enjoyable movie to even watch once!

I think doing an IG series would be very hard to get the money to do. It could be good. It just wouldn't be easy to fund that type of project. It's more likely though that one day we will see a guard FPS, as that medium works a lot better. Who knows what the future holds though? GW undoubtedly gets offers now and then. With the drop in cost of CGI we might one day get something better than 'Ultramarine', but there is nothing really official on the radar.

The Lord Inquisitor is still going strong though (April 2017 FTW!)

There is also a pretty good review of all the projects here

https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_Films

It really shouldn't be a money issue (see the aforementioned fan projects), but for GW it probably is. It's crazy how a graphic novel like Priest or a tabletop game like Mutant Chronicles manage to make a movie with a low budget and brimming with 40k style visuals, but this franchise doesn't? It must have to do with their corporate strategy, either expecting maximum returns for minimum investment, or crazy contract clauses for partners. Or the beancounters just don't have the necessary amount of faith in their IP, after how the Ultramarine movie was received.

I'm quite sure this is also why the video game licenses nowadays end up in small, rather obscure studios rather than AAA enterprises (with exception of Sega, but I have a hunch the only reason they got it is because they bought it from THQ rather than GW).

I think If GW were smart they would get a Graphic Anime done of a Imperial guard squad and have a generic Anime story line ( as I find all anime to be but that is my opinion) and then wait for the hordes of new fans to descend..

As For TV shows I doubt we would see a real adaptation of 40k. Television broadcasters are just not willing to take risks, and if anything goes by gws latest track record of licensing games out then it will not be very good if there is ever one.

I am sure if they get a Movie that In-voles Imperial guard, we will get to see Sean bean die in yet anther film.

Hmm, there's quite a number of TV shows taking risks -- it's not like we don't see interesting new formats and storylines these days, especially once we're looking at Netflix Originals. It just doesn't seem as if GW would be even remotely interested in exploring this possibility, which is a shame.

+1 for Sean Bean, though. Ironically enough, in the one show where he plays a common soldier, he actually survived till the end!

Hmm, there's quite a number of TV shows taking risks -- it's not like we don't see interesting new formats and storylines these days, especially once we're looking at Netflix Originals. It just doesn't seem as if GW would be even remotely interested in exploring this possibility, which is a shame.

+1 for Sean Bean, though. Ironically enough, in the one show where he plays a common soldier, he actually survived till the end!

Netflix is not main stream TV though and most broadcasters I know of are going to the hole " reality tv" stuff.

Despite my hate for Anime, I think with a good Anime artist and a half descent story it would be pretty good.

And One Survival for a career of dying hardly counts...... I think out of all the films he has made and tv shows he has survived in 7 ? maybe eight?

I think If GW were smart they would get a Graphic Anime done of a Imperial guard squad and have a generic Anime story line ( as I find all anime to be but that is my opinion) and then wait for the hordes of new fans to descend..

As For TV shows I doubt we would see a real adaptation of 40k. Television broadcasters are just not willing to take risks, and if anything goes by gws latest track record of licensing games out then it will not be very good if there is ever one.

I am sure if they get a Movie that In-voles Imperial guard, we will get to see Sean bean die in yet anther film.

I don't think they'd be willing to give up the merchandising rights, which are the real cash cow for an anime series. Anime has already knocked off warhammer 40k to some extent and to other extents been inspired by it (Tau). i'd love to see anime everything, but it's not likely.

If they did do it, then it would probably be much like Gundam Wing as opposed to Evangelion. I don't think a lot of people on this forum would really like it.

Hmm, there's quite a number of TV shows taking risks -- it's not like we don't see interesting new formats and storylines these days, especially once we're looking at Netflix Originals. It just doesn't seem as if GW would be even remotely interested in exploring this possibility, which is a shame.

+1 for Sean Bean, though. Ironically enough, in the one show where he plays a common soldier, he actually survived till the end!

Wait he lived at the end of a Movie??????????

Ehh, I think that movie catches more flak than it should. Yes, it was cheesy, but .. come on, this is Space Marines we're talking about. 90% of their novels are like that.

Space Marine with paper armour? That reacts slower than a dumb kid? Nope. Never saw that much in many novels.

I would think that GW would rather not have the Space Marines as a TV show. That is a lot of loss of control over the central part of their business. Having DH or RT as a show means that if the show tanks or messes up the fluff that it wouldn't affect the core product or Named characters.

RT opener for the show "The warp, gateway to a frontier of profits. These are the expeditions of rogue trader Ander Preese, called on by the Emperor to exploit profitable new worlds, to seek out and destroy xenos threats to the imperium, to gloriously bring all under the Emperors rule".

Loss of control seems like a good point, but wouldn't they be able to define this in the contracts? How do they do it for the video games that are 90% about Space Marines as well?

Space Marine with paper armour? That reacts slower than a dumb kid? Nope. Never saw that much in many novels.

It always depends on the source -- have you read Gaunt's Ghosts?

Most of the time, Marines are ridiculously exaggerated, colouring expectations, with few complaints. So if there's material that goes the other way, it causes all the more shock and bewilderment among fans, even though it's really just the same thing: they are as strong or as weak as the plot demands.

Computer games usually have a very fixed story, and GW has final yea or neigh on if the story is used. Five years of TV could be over 100 scripts, and the end product is of a show is not necessarily the same as the script that started it. I could see GW being a lot more forgiving with DH and RT.

It always depends on the source -- have you read Gaunt's Ghosts?

In gaunt's ghosts, they cleave through squads of soldiers when they are present, nothing to compare to the "slower-slower-less-competent-than-regular-nowaday-recruit-in-a-back-water-country" of the "movie".

they are as strong or as weak as the plot demands.

Which is stupid. Anyway.

But to answer the first point of this topic: I would like the movie to be set in an gaunt's ghost like universe, or Eiseinhorn and such, where we are centered on regular humans most of the time.

Why no one considered a Sitcom with Space Marine? Imagine the jokes made in the name of the Emperor!

Now seriously. I think a DH kind of TV show would be very interesting. However i doubt something like that will be ever made. The cost would be way too high.

Now seriously. I think a DH kind of TV show would be very interesting. However i doubt something like that will be ever made. The cost would be way too high.

As long as it would be serious, grimdark, ...