I like all of these ideas: but I have to say there is absolutely no way at all that GW would EVER give up control over their Intellectual Property (IP). The legal rights to create anything in the 40k universe would only be taken from them over the smoking corpses of everyone in the entire company.

GW are a large enough and legally canny enough company to wait until they get an absolutely cast iron deal with Hollywood where they retain a veto over every single aspect of production. They're also wealthy enough to wait until some very special offer comes along, as they don't NEED Hollywood. GW have famously never advertised their products beyond their own publications or stores, as word of mouth is sufficient to bring in all they need. I very much doubt we'll see something as low rent as [shudder] the Dungeons & Dragons film.

I know at this juncture people will point me to the forthcoming DVD-only Ultramarines film, but i read that as a GW attempt to explore the possibilities of producing a movie that is under their complete control from start to finish. They'll probably see how that goes before they explore any creative collaborations with Hollywood.

Besides, why the GW hate? None of us wouldn;t be on these forums if we didn;t like the setting GW have created. Plus there are many excellent examples of GW retaining a veto over the IP while still allowing for the creation of cool and memorable works. Look at the Black Library. Look at Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, etc. These are works that are, on the whole, not produced by GW, (although some current and former GW writers dip in and out) but are still overseen and rubber-stamped by GW, who have the final veto on any material that doesn't fit with their concept of the setting. Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader rule. Deathwatch will, likely, rule too.

You can extrapolate from that concept that any big budget Hollywood production in the setting will also rule. So "No GW involvement" isn't gonna happen, and I don't see why it needs to happen anyway...

Well as far as I'v understood it from the various interviews and blogs "Ultramarines" is a feeler to see if there is a market either for TV or movies, so don't just torrent it, order the dvd .

This has me all excited, if only i had that kind of budget for this kind of endeavour

What would you feature in the screenplay? What's the plot?

It would follow a team of throne agents and a young inquisitor, new to the rosette. It would start following them on some relatively minor raid, maybe raiding a small heretical cult. We see the throne agents lead a handful of arbitors into the raid and easily slaughter the bad guys. Exploration of evidence suggests something really really bad. Inquisitor and chums investigate, this involves travel to a handful of systems. We see a hive world in detail and follow the investigation there. A few more locations are briefly featured, music soaring as we see the team dealing with natives on a feral world, Valhallan-alikes on an ice world, etc. Basically a really quick whirlwide tour of some very diverse imperial cultures. Back tot he plot, another inquisitor, older, darker with a dangerous reputation turns up and lends a hand. Turns out he is also investigating the same thing. However, he is clearly a badguy, with nasty looking cadre and clearly evil. Closer to the big evil thing, another inquisitor arrives, this time a friend of our hero. He is clearly a goodie. Final location, turns out the big bad is on a war world. We see massive guard armies deploying, titans, etc. Our heroes deploy via valkyrie as do the other 2 inquisitor teams. Battle through an enemy fortress as the guard assault, much explosions, etc. Hero and other goodie inquisitor find the device/psyker/plot hook and resuce/retrieve it, only for goodie inquisitor to reveal....he is actually a baddie. Supposedly baddie inquisitor arrives and hero+arsehole inquisitor battle the supposedly-goodie-but-actually-baddie inquisitor. arsehole inquisitor dies, but manages to do something heroic, heloing our hero and redeeming himself in the eyes of the audience, evil inqusiitor escapes. Hero pursues baddie and climatic confrontation is held atop the tallest spire of the fortress where baddie is waiting for evac. Baddie dies, hero wins. Shock twist! Baddie had already activated the device dooming th world. Hero and remaining cadre reluctantly leave planet and order virus bombing from orbit. Particularly sad as hero has previously mentioned, possibly about arsehole inquisitor that he would never do such a thing. Clearly hero has learnt the terrible weight of his position. Roll credits.

How would you explain the incredibly complex Imperium to total novices using a practically infinite budget?

Don't tell, show. The Imperium and greater 40k universe is too huge to spend much time talking about. Instead show in various ways. for instance, when showing the guard, have an commissar be delivering a moral lecture, perhaps while a misbehaving guardsman is given lashes. Play up the religion aspect, everyone prays before battle, even those that seem to be totally illreligious. Preachers everywhere, even in the weirdest of places. Show the cadres bruiser/guardsman softly reciting a prayer to the machine spirit of his gun as he cleans it. Have the hero inquisitor use his rosette against some flunky only to literally paralyse the guy with terror (comic relief moment). Have the arsehole inquisitor throw his weight around and casually demand stuff like executions (commissar, your men don't seem properly motivated, shoot one, i'll let you choose which). Play up the mysticism of technology. Maybe have a group of Adeptus mechnicus perform some elaborate ritual that clearly serves some mundane function (activation of void shields for instance)

What action/set pieces would you employ?

The final battle would be a huge warzone, not shown in detail as such, but the heroes would spend some time in the imp guard camp. A battle between two starships would be sweet, real ships of wood, men of iron stuff. Dramatic virus bombing as our hero signs the fate of amany minor characters that we came to like.

What stars do you cast, if any?

Someone who really knows their martial arts (i.e. a martial artist first, actor second) as the death cultist. Someone wiry and tough but not big for the guardsman, an older lady for the sage (Judi Dench) and a classic leading man, clever, handsome and well educated for the inquisitor.

What do you save for the sequels?

Aliens. Do it like Eisenhorn. First episodeis hereticus, second xenos, third malleus. Second movie introduces the treacherous eldar as good and bad guys (i.e. in league with our hero but clearly out for themselves) and maybe a genestealer cult. Or something dark and really messed up like the Yu'Vath. Third one deals with the rise of a daemon, back from its 1000 years of banishment. Toughest trial yet, inquisitor needs to locate weapon/knowledge to allow its defeat.

How do you avoid either the movie or the trilogy sucking completely?

Focus on strong actors and relationship between the cadre. We shoudl come to love them by the end. The death of at least one should invoke sadness/anger/etc. Downplay CGI and special effects as much as is possible. Make the ending dramatic and surprising. Above al, make it appear as if it could happen. I.e. no silly acrobactics, no ludicruos martial arts, no action movie cliches, it should be more blade runner than matrix. It it gritty and make it dark and make it brutal. Play up the brutality and darkness of the setting and show the hero slowly losing his idealism.

@Gribble_the_Munchkin

Just ... brilliant.

I would pay to see that movie repeatedly ... and I would buy the Collector's Edition of the DVD/Blu-Ray.