Acclaimed horror director Mike Flanagan has been recruited to work on Warhammer 40,000 adaptations, Games Workshop has revealed. The director, known for Netflix hits Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House, is due to begin work on scripts soon, the company said in its latest update.
Flanagan joins Henry Cavill, the former Superman actor and Warhammer superfan, who was previously announced to produce and star in TV and film projects based on the miniature tabletop wargame. The update confirmed Cavill remains involved after fans had expressed worries about the lack of new information on the collaboration.
“Mike Flanagan joins Henry Cavill on Warhammer 40,000 screen adaptations as Games Workshop posts record profits.”
Games Workshop did not reveal whether Flanagan would work on a film or series, but added that production company United Artists had also been brought on board. The company, which struck a licensing deal with Amazon in 2024, said it has “almost completed” work on a new Warhammer-inspired episode of Secret Level, the Prime Video anthology series based on popular video games. It also said work had begun on a full animated series based on its Space Marine Deathwatch characters.
The announcement came as part of Games Workshop’s annual financial report, which posted record-high results. Pre-tax profit rose 4.9% to a record £275.7m for the fiscal year. The company saw a drop in revenue from licensing video games against a “challenging” backdrop for the industry, with two previous partners ending their deals to make Warhammer-inspired titles. Despite this, it has announced four new video game tie-ins this year, and said blockbuster 2024 release Space Marine 2 “continues to generate income long after the initial launch”.
Chief executive Kevin Rountree also addressed the impact of US tariffs on the company’s models, manufactured at its headquarters in Nottingham. He said the company had paid about £12m in tariffs, but was able to reclaim £7.8m following a US Supreme Court ruling. Following changes to US rules, Rountree said, the company expected to pay about £13m in tariffs in the next business year, and would continue trying to boost efficiency to save money. “Unlike some companies, we do not consider tariffs as an exceptional item, but rather part of the uncertainty of operating globally,” he said.
Rountree also doubled down on Games Workshop’s stance on generative AI, stating the company does not use it in “our product design”. The news leaves Warhammer fans anticipating what Flanagan’s horror sensibilities will bring to the grimdark universe of the 41st millennium.