Warhammer 40,000 on the silver screen

[Ryan Thunder]

The trouble with the Imperium is that your average viewer will think they're the bad guys until they realize who the real bad guys are, at which point they might lose interest because there's no idiotic Pure Good vs. Minor Evil stereotype being fulfilled.

[Teleros]

Depends on how / what you portray. Gaunt's Ghosts or Ciaphas Cain could fairly easily be used to give the impression of a ruthless but good regime I think. It's when you get to killing and burning the suspected heretics that most viewers get confused I think .

[Covenant]

The trouble with the Imperium is that your average viewer will think they're the bad guys until they realize who the real bad guys are, at which point they might lose interest because there's no idiotic Pure Good vs. Minor Evil stereotype being fulfilled.

In your rush to slam the average bullshit-eater out there, you're missing the fact that people love darker heroes, like Batman. People love Batman and other 'harder' heroes and rip on Superman for being a boyscout. I think that if you tap into the R. Lee Ermey style of "God has a hardon for Marines" style of vibe that portrays the Adeptus Astartes as the dark heroes of a more dangerous age you'll really find some resonance with a lot of audiences.

Besides, people care less if the hero is 'mindless good' fighting a 'minor evil' if they're given the alternative of a heroic-looking badass Space Marine duking it out with giant slathering demons.

I think the movie could be done, and done well. We would want to focus on the human factor, as well as the sense of loss that accompanies the audience when they join the 41st millenium. Something important would be to convey, quickly, how far man has fallen--and how hard he fights to keep himself above the level of the beast, and worse. You could definately pull a story out of that. The old saying goes "Nobody wants a movie to make them think. They want it to make them think they're thinking."

And I think that'd be easy. Stay close to the theme, instead of just going for actoin-movie crud and you get some gripping tales of what it means to be a human, and what people will do to survive, and there's no way to avoid combat anyway--so you get violence AND message. Genius! Oscar!

[Imperial Overlord]

Theres a number of techniques I can see being used to introduce the viewer to the 40K world.

Say you have a movie about a Deathwatch Kill Team going somewhere and investigating-slash-purging some scary xenos shit. Give the main character the introduction montage from the movie Soldier.

Or have Senior Commissar R. Lee Emory supervising the raising of an IG unit. Call it Full Flak Jacket.

[Ryan Thunder]

The trouble with the Imperium is that your average viewer will think they're the bad guys until they realize who the real bad guys are, at which point they might lose interest because there's no idiotic Pure Good vs. Minor Evil stereotype being fulfilled.

In your rush to slam the average bullshit-eater out there, you're missing the fact that people love darker heroes, like Batman. People love Batman and other 'harder' heroes and rip on Superman for being a boyscout. I think that if you tap into the R. Lee Ermey style of "God has a hardon for Marines" style of vibe that portrays the Adeptus Astartes as the dark heroes of a more dangerous age you'll really find some resonance with a lot of audiences.

Besides, people care less if the hero is 'mindless good' fighting a 'minor evil' if they're given the alternative of a heroic-looking badass Space Marine duking it out with giant slathering demons.

Not quite what I meant, actually. Batman is hardly on the same level as the heroes of the Imperium.

I meant it in the sense that the Imperium is a tad more extreme than what most people are used to seeing. Not to mention the religious undertones will probably turn a good-sized chunk of them off. It did it to me, initially, anyways.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Overtones you mean, since religion is one of the primary elements of 40K. Heck, the theocratic nature of the Imperium and its faith is one of the things I find to be most interesting about the property.

I don't really think the nature of the Imperium's ethics and morality is something that would turn people off, although a 40K film, one approached and done properly. has never struck me as something exactly intended for the broad movie-going public.

But then again, look at all the films made that do focus on protagonists that are morally ambiguous anti-heroes, gangsters, or outright killers.

[fgalkin]

I think both the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies will translate very well to the big screen. Hell, most of the big action scenes are incredibly cinematic. And, unlike the most of the franchise, it has a plot that goes beyond WAR WAR MORE WAR HUR HUR. Besides, not only does it show the nasty sides of the Imperium, it actually explains why the it is as fucked up as it is.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Cykeisme]

I meant it in the sense that the Imperium is a tad more extreme than what most people are used to seeing. Not to mention the religious undertones will probably turn a good-sized chunk of them off. It did it to me, initially, anyways.

The religious aspect of the Imperium of Man was a turn on for me.

Instead of this magical invisible sky fairy bullshit we get, they have the goddamn EMPEROR OF MANKIND. He's big, He's bad, He fights so we can live another day (or at least he did). Even after He "ascended" (the ultimate sacrifice no less) to the Golden Throne, he makes the Imperium possible. Even if we had to suffer every day, it's in His name!
And someday, He'll be back! And things will be wonderful again!
Worship Him!
I mean, isn't that the ultimate religion? He's real!

[Academia Nut]

Eisenhorn would probably be the best trilogy to start with, that or Gaunt's Ghosts as it focuses on normal people and eases into the grimness, while Cain would have to be saved until later (brainstorm: have Robin Williams play Cain, he loves 40k and he could probably do the role right).

But that said, I have an idea for how to do Space Marines and do them justice, while throwing in a bit of subtle social commentary on the sides.

Start with a shot of stained glass windows and sculptures, all silent except for a narrator with a sufficiently deep voice and gravitas giving the standard "It is the 41st millennium..." spiel, with the camera panning across various stained glass windows depicting various scenes relating to the narration. Then, when it hits "WAR!" zoom back and show that this cathedral is one of the Imperium's space cathedrals of death in orbit above a planet where nuclear explosions are going off in the background and ships are burning away merrily. Then show several objects being launched out the bottom of the ship towards the planet. Following along for a moment, the camera quickly zooms past the objects to the ground below.

Reaching the surface, you see a brutal city fight where elements of the guard are holding off a tide of faceless Chaos cultists, blowing them apart with relentless las fire. Their rounds are tearing apart the cultists, but they keep coming, screaming fanatically, the weight of their numbers and their zeal barely held back by the vastly superior firepower of the guard.

Beyond the range of the guns of the guard there is a brutal giant encased in armour urging his fanatics on for the glory of Chaos while a chanting cirlce of worshippers offer up blood sacrifices to the gods. Finally, with a horrific rending sound and a wave of blood, they summon forth a number of demons. Beings so truly horrific that they are intentionally a little out of focus just to give the audience headaches. Cackling maniacally, they casually slaughter a few of their own worshippers before being directed by the armoured figure to charge the Imperial lines.

The mere sight of the on-rushing daemons begins to unnerve the already hard pressed guardsmen, and one of them begins to run, but is mercilessly cut down by a shot from his own side. Focus on a sinister and terrifying looking commissar screaming, "By the Emperor, you will stand your ground and fight!"

The men, now clearly more terrified of their own side than the onrushing monstrosities from beyond the stars, return to the fight, but the blasts that were previously ripping apart human flesh are bouncing harmlessly off the unnatural substance of the daemons, who then strike the Imperial lines and begin the slaughter. The men break, but the commissar holds his ground, whirring chainsword cutting through one of the beasts, its substance fading to incorporeality, before another one of the daemons mercilessly cuts him down, perhaps with some CGI to imply that the touch of the weapon drags the commissar's soul out of his dying body.

The daemons and cultists advance, gunning down the fleeing guardsmen, and it is shown that they were desperately trying to protect a convoy of women and children trying to get out of the warzone. And then, just when all hope seems lost...

BAM! A cluster of drop pods slams into the thick of things, throwing up cultists and parts of cultists with the violence of the impact. The hatches blow open and a torrent of fire follows as Space Marines begin to spill out, reaping the enemy like wheat before a combine. Several bolts slam into one of the daemons and it is blown backwards, disintegrating as it goes. A third is incinerated by a flamer. But a forth manages to slip through the lines, taking down one of the marines and about to dispatch another when a crackling power weapon intercepts its attack. It's momentum killed, the daemon has just enough time to look up into the barrel of a bolt pistol before it is blown away.

Bellowing with outrage, the armoured figure arrives on scene and tosses a marine aside. It's show-down time between loyalist and traitor marine. The traitor and sergeant/captain engage in an epic battle, neither able to down the other despite them fighting like gods of old. Finally they traitor lops off the pistol arm of the loyalist. Not even pausing, the loyalist raises his weapon high with the other hand and brings it down hard. The traitor gets runs him through, but is slain in the process, the two of them tumbling to the ground.

Zoom in on the fallen loyalist (slow motion of course) as his brothers surround him, an apothecary coming forward to tend him. As everything goes all fuzzy we hear some comment like "He's lost a heart and two lungs but I think I can still stabilize him!" to show just how tough these guys are. Then as everything goes black, we get a flashback of this marine's life. Begin dramatic part of story. Possibly have the movie end with him waking up and immediately going back to work, or perhaps cooler in my opinion, have him wake up interred in a Dreadnought and have it end with him marching back in battle saying something like, "Even in death duty does not end..."

Now, as to what chapter, I would suggest that the best introductory chapter would be the Salamanders? Why? Well, firstly because I'm a Salamander's fanboy. But the second reason is that people are constantly bitching about how the Space Marines are "pure as driven snow Teutonic ubermensch blah blah blah". But if the first taste of the Space Marines people get are of industrious, hardworking badass black men who are considered elite by other marines, then suddenly such objections seem stupid. Throw in some scenes meeting some White Scars and one of the more standard "white" chapters, and it will drive across the idea that the Imperium is not racist, it is just xenophobic towards aliens.

Of course, the problem with what I have just written above is that it has to be at least R rated to be done properly, and GW would never allow that much violence to be shown on screen with their IP, despite the fact that they make a game where people kill one another with gigantic chainsaw sword called Eviscerators.

[Dartzap]

Everyone knows that if there was a Cain movie, the star role would go to someone like Rick Mayall

Also: Why bother worrying about Hollywood? Plenty of Brit films have been produced without their assistance in recent years. And GW has several hundred million in the bank as well, so funding would be fine.

[2000AD]

Or have Senior Commissar R. Lee Emory supervising the raising of an IG unit. Call it Full Flak Jacket.

Or do 15 Hours, where the first part is training and the second part is trying to live through his first 15 hours of being a guardsman in battle (the catch being that on the planet he's fighting on, 15 hours is the average life expectancy of a new guardsman)

The books already short enough that there wont be need for too much editing, it's 40k enough to be 40K, but not too 40K enough to exclude outsiders and it has a lot of action and a fairly simple story.

[Dartzap]

Or have Senior Commissar R. Lee Emory supervising the raising of an IG unit. Call it Full Flak Jacket.

Or do 15 Hours, where the first part is training and the second part is trying to live through his first 15 hours of being a guardsman in battle (the catch being that on the planet he's fighting on, 15 hours is the average life expectancy of a new guardsman)

The books already short enough that there wont be need for too much editing, it's 40k enough to be 40K, but not too 40K enough to exclude outsiders and it has a lot of action and a fairly simple story.

Indeed, 25 Hours could be quite a good book to adapt, and Orks would be an ideal candidate for an enemy people can hate.

It's annoying, in my mind Cain and Jurgen are just the 40K versions of Blackadder and Baldrick

[Dartzap]

Woops, I meant 15 Hours, of course.

[DocHorror]

I always envisioned the 2nd Armageddon War with Patrick Stewart as Commissar Yarrick.

[Peptuck]

Or have Senior Commissar R. Lee Emory supervising the raising of an IG unit. Call it Full Flak Jacket.

Or do 15 Hours, where the first part is training and the second part is trying to live through his first 15 hours of being a guardsman in battle (the catch being that on the planet he's fighting on, 15 hours is the average life expectancy of a new guardsman)

The books already short enough that there wont be need for too much editing, it's 40k enough to be 40K, but not too 40K enough to exclude outsiders and it has a lot of action and a fairly simple story.

Indeed, 25 Hours could be quite a good book to adapt, and Orks would be an ideal candidate for an enemy people can hate.

It's annoying, in my mind Cain and Jurgen are just the 40K versions of Blackadder and Baldrick

How can anyone possibly hate Orks? They're the greatest source of humor and awesome in all of 40k.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Dartzap means that Orks would serve as an ideal villain army versus the Guard, not that the audience would outright hate them.

[speaker-to-trolls]

The trouble with the Imperium is that your average viewer will think they're the bad guys until they realize who the real bad guys are, at which point they might lose interest because there's no idiotic Pure Good vs. Minor Evil stereotype being fulfilled.

In your rush to slam the average bullshit-eater out there, you're missing the fact that people love darker heroes, like Batman. People love Batman and other 'harder' heroes and rip on Superman for being a boyscout. I think that if you tap into the R. Lee Ermey style of "God has a hardon for Marines" style of vibe that portrays the Adeptus Astartes as the dark heroes of a more dangerous age you'll really find some resonance with a lot of audiences.

Besides, people care less if the hero is 'mindless good' fighting a 'minor evil' if they're given the alternative of a heroic-looking badass Space Marine duking it out with giant slathering demons.

Not quite what I meant, actually. Batman is hardly on the same level as the heroes of the Imperium.

I meant it in the sense that the Imperium is a tad more extreme than what most people are used to seeing. Not to mention the religious undertones will probably turn a good-sized chunk of them off. It did it to me, initially, anyways.

I think you underestimate the audiences appreciation of morally ambiguous and badass heroes and ultraviolence. Did you see any of the recent BBC/HBO series Rome? It was very well received and was just about as brutal and raunchy as it's possible to get on TV, what's more, even the main viewpoint characters, probably the most sympathetic characters there, would probably be villains in most other settings. The movers-and-shakers like Marc Anthony and Octavius Caesar (the future Augustus) were vicious, murderous, egomaniacal psychopaths, and they didn't even have the 40k excuse of needing to fight the forces of Hell itself day in day out.

I don't think the religious angle will be a problem either, since people will probably recognise 40k's religious stylings as, like much in the setting, being so immensely over the top that they don't really relate to the real world.

Speaking of Rome: The guy who played Pollo, we need him to be a space marine.

[Coalition]

One option would be to have a 'nice' Guardsman who spares an innocent little girl, when the Commissar had ordered him to shoot all traitors and heretics within a city.

Later on, we see them talking quietly, as she managed to learn a spell to talk to him. They chat idly, and she leaves.

At the end, we see them attacking a bastion of evil, and it turns out that she is the leader. We see hundreds of people that have been sacrificed for their souls, and daemons summoned due to that. When they get to the center, they see that she is the leader, and he has to kill her. It is revealed that she has been using him the entire time to learn about the Guard and their deployments. (Extra points if he has some small warp potential, and she was planning on using him as a partner/daemonhost).

Include the phrase "A moment of weakness spawns a lifetime of treachery", or similar to initially make it seem like the Ecclesiarchy is a group of fanatics, but at the end it is revealed that they were correct.

[Rye]

Eisenhorn wouldn't translate too well to film, I mean, some parts of it would, perhaps even the main villain would, but the larger story has too much stuff in it that wouldn't quite survive the transition to action without proper foreshadowing and exposition as part of the wider universe. Also, though I've not read Ravenor, I'm not sure how you would be able to make it a visually appealing story with the main character a floating chunk of armour.

If I were to tackle it, I would go for a straight up war film, not unlike Saving Private Ryan about elite imperial guard units going to save a lone Space Marine deep inside enemy lines between the warring Chaos and Ork factions. That way, we'd get to see the gritty futuristic warfare, enjoy the orks, be horrified by Chaos, see the awesomeness of a Space Marine up close (and a hero CSM for him to face off against in the climax) and have straightforward human characters in an impossible but familiar situation enough to tell a good story. The wider exposition of the setting would be left out for the most part, given on a strict need to know basis, after all, if the audience likes it, they will be able to look into the vast scale of background information.

[Cykeisme]

One option would be to have a 'nice' Guardsman who spares an innocent little girl, when the Commissar had ordered him to shoot all traitors and heretics within a city.

Later on, we see them talking quietly, as she managed to learn a spell to talk to him. They chat idly, and she leaves.

At the end, we see them attacking a bastion of evil, and it turns out that she is the leader. We see hundreds of people that have been sacrificed for their souls, and daemons summoned due to that. When they get to the center, they see that she is the leader, and he has to kill her. It is revealed that she has been using him the entire time to learn about the Guard and their deployments. (Extra points if he has some small warp potential, and she was planning on using him as a partner/daemonhost).

Include the phrase "A moment of weakness spawns a lifetime of treachery", or similar to initially make it seem like the Ecclesiarchy is a group of fanatics, but at the end it is revealed that they were correct.

Holy shit, I got a "whoa wtf" just reading the post, much less a movie like this..

[Ritterin Sophia]

Warhammer 40k: The Anime

-Pre-Horus Fight-
Rogal Dorn: Emperor-sama you can not do this, what will we do without you, what will I do?
Emperor: -sparkles in eyes- I must Rogal, I must make Sanguinius' sacrifice matter, for the Imperium, for Terra.
-Cue Homoerotically Charged Fight With Horus with cherry blossoms falling in the background-

-Terran School Scene-
Schoolgirls: Oh no, the forces of Chaos!
Fulgrim: Tentacle-Attack!

Best Movie Ever?

[An Ancient]

I think Gaunt's Ghosts would make the best initial trilogy, the first book would nicely set-up everything, giving everyone sympathy for the characters, a reason for their situation, and establishes Chaos as a Bad Thing (TM).

For the second movie, jump the second book to Necropolis, that would be awesome in CGI, and the whole board the enemy mobile death fortress thing would play well with Hollywood.

Dunno what you'd do with the third one though.

[Shroom Man 777]

Academia Nut has a great idea. That's a way to make a Space Marine work. And, come on, Space Marine brother sergeant Samuel L. Jackson! Brother Captain Morgan Freeman! Brother Marine Micheal Clarke Duncan!

[Ritterin Sophia]

Chaplain Jesse Jackson and Librarian Al Sharpton.

[andrewgpaul]

Is this Salamanders: The Movie you're making?

Oh, and General Schatten, I realaise you weren't entirely seriuous, but keep your anime shite away from my 40K.