Amazon is drawing inspiration for one of the most popular tabletop strategic war games for its next content spree.
Amazon Studios is forging a deal with Games Workshop Group to develop its intellectual property into film and television productions, starting with Warhammer 40,000—the miniature sci-fi wargame set 40,000 years into the “grim darkness of the far future,” according to an agreement-in-principle shared by the UK-based company.
The franchise, which started with a tabletop game in the 1980s, has over a dozen board game editions and over 300 novels. Licensing its content for several successful video games has been a lucrative move, with Games Workshop minting £25 million ($30 million) off it last year.
Details of the Amazon deal have still not been etched out. “Whilst the parties have reached agreement on material commercial terms, the project is wholly dependent on and subject to contracts being agreed and entered into, which the parties are working towards,” Games Workshop said.
Person of interest: Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill, who just confirmed he won’t be returning as Superman as new management presses reset on the DC universe, could reportedly star in and turn executive producer for the project. The actor, who bowed out of Netflix’s The Witcher after three seasons, has been seen painting his own minis and having a gala time visiting the Warhammer headquarter.
One big number: Amazon’s movie-making budget
$1 billion: Money Amazon plans to spend on creating 12 to 15 movies for theatrical release each year. This budget puts the production house, which has already released titles like The Big Sick and Manchester by the Sea on the silver screen and shown it’s serious about the movie business with its $8.45 billion MGM purchase in March this year, in direct competition with major studios like Universal and Warner Bros. (P.S. $1 billion was the budget for its Lord of the Rings prequel series Rings of Power.)
One more thing: Amazon’s making the next Tomb Raider video game
Amazon is tapping into legacy characters and games in its other divisions, too The same day as the Warhammer 40,000 announcement, Amazon Games said it’s working with developer Crystal Dynamics to publish the next installment in the Tomb Raider video game series, which features the iconic Lara Croft.
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