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So with the relative success of the Ultramarine movie, I got to thinking about what might be in the inevitable sequel/spin-off. Orcs? Chaos Deamons? Then I was like, well, how can they do justice to a Pink Horror? I mean you have to use a lot of imagination for them to be terrifying and maddening anyway.
So the question is, what is unfilmable? Or at least very challenging? Also, maybe, what is begging to be on the big screen?

Tzeentch. His form will require something of a brown note to fully convey, in which case any film board would ban the film outright.

I'd love to see how they'd try to portray the Warp.

The Sequel will feature another marine chapter going to another chaos planet and finding another artifact that, in the end, will do nothing to further the 40k timeline in anyway, thus rendering the entire movie pointless.

If we are talking animation I think most things are filmable, chaos demons and the warp would be challenging but you only have to look at some of the madness in Japanese anime to think yeah the right company/budget could do it justice.

As for live action I don’t think you could do 40k justice without throwing a massive budget at it which would lead to the inevitable watering down of the subject matter, in order to recoup the outlay they would have to make it marketable to the masses and that’s gonna mean one liners, love stories, GI Joe space marines and a PG rating.

Slaanesh + Japanese Anime = BRAIN BLEACH

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:Slaanesh + Japanese Anime = BRAIN BLEACH

Yeah the more i think about that the more i think urotsukidoji or somthing along those lines, not really GW's thing.

Well, I gave some thought of how they would transfer one of the Ghost stories into film (siege of Verghast to be specific) but I realized;

- To make a good film they need to draw a sizable audience to make it worth it financially

- To do this the movie has to make sense to people who've never heard of warhammer before. So you either go though an hour or so of prologue which will lose the watchers interest or cut the pieces.

- So all we're left with is basically a bunch of guys shooting other guys, not a good basis for a movie IMO.

So yeah, its hard to film warhammer. But its possible with adequate budget and a five - ten hour long film.

StarShade wrote:

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:Slaanesh + Japanese Anime = BRAIN BLEACH

Yeah the more i think about that the more i think urotsukidoji or somthing along those lines, not really GW's thing.

Giving the God of Sex, Depravity and Lust to the country most well known for making...alternative stimulating Animations is not exactly a good idea.

However I can already hear the small H-Anime industry drooling at the prospect.

wizard12 wrote:

- To do this the movie has to make sense to people who've never heard of warhammer before. So you either go though an hour or so of prologue which will lose the watchers interest or cut the pieces..... So yeah, its hard to film warhammer. But its possible with adequate budget and a five - ten hour long film.

I think the trick would be to not try to show the audience everything about warhammer. It is a dystopian science fantasy setting. That is conveyable in less than five minutes. Everything else is of secondary importance. Remember how you learned about 40K, you did not immediately read about the structure of the imperial bureaucracy. You saw a few miniatures, and you were hooked. Same works in a movie. Star Wars is an immensely vast setting, but it when one watches the first movie (ie Episode IV) for the first time, this is not immediately thrust into your brain, and it still is a great story.

Skylifter wrote:

wizard12 wrote:

- To do this the movie has to make sense to people who've never heard of warhammer before. So you either go though an hour or so of prologue which will lose the watchers interest or cut the pieces..... So yeah, its hard to film warhammer. But its possible with adequate budget and a five - ten hour long film.

I think the trick would be to not try to show the audience everything about warhammer. It is a dystopian science fantasy setting. That is conveyable in less than five minutes. Everything else is of secondary importance. Remember how you learned about 40K, you did not immediately read about the structure of the imperial bureaucracy. You saw a few miniatures, and you were hooked. Same works in a movie. Star Wars is an immensely vast setting, but it when one watches the first movie (ie Episode IV) for the first time, this is not immediately thrust into your brain, and it still is a great story.

Thats a very good point and well made. So do you think they would need a more human element to draw you into the universe, say IG?

wizard12 wrote:

- So all we're left with is basically a bunch of guys shooting other guys, not a good basis for a movie IMO.

What about this?

StarShade wrote:

Thats a very good point and well made. So do you think they would need a more human element to draw you into the universe, say IG?

It will certainly be the easiest to write a good plot about. I wouldn't actually do a movie about an army, though, I'd probably tell a story of 'normal' citizens tossed up in some of the mean stuff the 40k universe can throw at them and see how they fare. Would also probably end badly for the protagonists. I think in 40k there is no room for a happy ending.

Skylifter wrote:

StarShade wrote:

Thats a very good point and well made. So do you think they would need a more human element to draw you into the universe, say IG?

It will certainly be the easiest to write a good plot about. I wouldn't actually do a movie about an army, though, I'd probably tell a story of 'normal' citizens tossed up in some of the mean stuff the 40k universe can throw at them and see how they fare. Would also probably end badly for the protagonists. I think in 40k there is no room for a happy ending.

That would be good. Perhaps an agri-world has been attacked by Orks, and the PDF are just getting smashed, then in comes the Space Marines to save the day?
Yes it's a little too mainstream and simplified for what we're used to, but for the masses who don't know 40K fluff this would be a good opener.

I'd probably tell a story of 'normal' citizens tossed up in some of the mean stuff the 40k universe can throw at them and see how they fare

This is a good idea for a Black Library book.

Here's a plot you'll never see (speaking of unfilmable aspects of WH40K): Marine army lands on mysterious planet and starts getting attacked by horrifying robotic skeleton's, floating pyramids, and flying spyders. After a long, arduous battle, right when the climactic final push to decide victory happens, the skeletons vanish and the credits roll.

Marine aren't really good plot characters. They are too inhuman. Guardsmen are good for it. Maybe have guardsmen contrasted with marines if you really wanted them in it.
Obviously the guardsmen have to fight Tyranids... Battle of Ichar IV anyone?
You could start it with some PDF/Arbites fighting the genestealer infestation and they fight side-to-side with some IG regiments and a marine company detachment (For the contrast) maybe have them fighting underground where it's all grim-dark. They would also probably need to all die (or just most of them die and the survivors get sent to a new planet to fight on)

the only movie I have ever seen that is completely described by it's title.

I have to add Snakes on a Plane to this list.

A Horus Heresy Movie saga would be good. It could be adapted from each of the books.

loranafaeriequeen wrote:

the only movie I have ever seen that is completely described by it's title.

I have to add Snakes on a Plane to this list.

Well I havn't seen that yet....

Thaanos wrote:

loranafaeriequeen wrote:

the only movie I have ever seen that is completely described by it's title.

I have to add Snakes on a Plane to this list.

Well I havn't seen that yet....

I'd say it's worth seeing. It's pretty funny, even if it wasn't intended to be so.

People like human characters. Space marines are frankly too boring and one dimensional to make a good movie all on their own.

A good 40k movie in my eyes would go something like this:

1. Intro. Dark future, only war, all that jazz.
2. Inquisitor main character. Introduce the dark underbelly of humanity, Inquisitor and pals fighting mutants, traitors, investigating, etc.
3. Inquisitor goes a bit radical over course of movie, confronts big bads, gets in way over his head, etc.
4. End movie with space marines drop podding in, killing everyone, very grim ending. Inquisitor and the one token surviving henchman may or may not escape. A bittersweet ending is a must, I actually really liked how the Ultramarines movie's ending went down.

The inquisitor's henchmen can accomplish all the light comedy relief, potential love interest, etc. that people want. Of course, they probably all die, making it very 40k. Maybe the optimistic one gets killed in a horrible way early on, the Inquisitor becomes more radical, the faithful one struggles with the Inquisitor's hard "ends justify means" decisions, potential love interest sacrifices herself to save the Inquisitor, etc.

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:A Horus Heresy Movie saga would be good. It could be adapted from each of the books.

That would be good. It might just be me but when I was reading horus rising (the only HH book I've read so far) the marines seemed more human than the current ones. I might reflect on that we are pre heresy at that point though.

the HH series would be similar to the Prequel Starwars Trilogy, especially if the first movie in the series would do an overview of the events, with subsequent movies fleshing out each of the individual legion's involvements. As it stands it's one of the most pivotal moments in 40K fluff (the only other one that comes close is the Eldar's fall, however that is kinda sidelined due to the fact that we're human-centric).

I think Tyranids would look good on film. I'd imagine seeing a sky blackened by spoors and the occasional blast of light revealing a carpet of gaunts, dotted with larger creatures standing above them, attacking a fortress wall. That would be cool looking.

You could make them attacking either marines, imperial guard or both even.

Mr Nobody wrote:I think Tyranids would look good on film. I'd imagine seeing a sky blackened by spoors and the occasional blast of light revealing a carpet of gaunts, dotted with larger creatures standing above them, attacking a fortress wall. That would be cool looking.

You could make them attacking either marines, imperial guard or both even.

Definatly a Tyranid invasion. It would look awesome.

BlackMath wrote:So with the relative success of the Ultramarine movie

I think I found your first problem.

SumYungGui wrote:

BlackMath wrote:So with the relative success of the Ultramarine movie

I think I found your first problem.

Relative to not selling any copies at all the film has had a massive success. Relative to Avatar the film is a complete and utter failure.

Mr Nobody wrote:I think Tyranids would look good on film. I'd imagine seeing a sky blackened by spoors and the occasional blast of light revealing a carpet of gaunts, dotted with larger creatures standing above them, attacking a fortress wall. That would be cool looking.

You could make them attacking either marines, imperial guard or both even.

They already have this story. It involved a Tyranid invasion, worlds being destroyed, Space Marines and Imperial Guard standing shoulder to shoulder fighting off a Tyranid hoard. Most of the defenders being killed, even their intrepid leader being brought close to death, and the elite of the elite dying to the last to defend the planet. Grim? Yes. Dark? Oh yes. Big historical 40k event? Definitely.

The Battle for Mccragge.

-Loki- wrote:

Mr Nobody wrote:I think Tyranids would look good on film. I'd imagine seeing a sky blackened by spoors and the occasional blast of light revealing a carpet of gaunts, dotted with larger creatures standing above them, attacking a fortress wall. That would be cool looking.

You could make them attacking either marines, imperial guard or both even.

They already have this story. It involved a Tyranid invasion, worlds being destroyed, Space Marines and Imperial Guard standing shoulder to shoulder fighting off a Tyranid hoard. Most of the defenders being killed, even their intrepid leader being brought close to death, and the elite of the elite dying to the last to defend the planet. Grim? Yes. Dark? Oh yes. Big historical 40k event? Definitely.

The Battle for Mccragge.

Exactly what I had in mind.

Monster Rain wrote:I'd love to see how they'd try to portray the Warp.

Personally, I'm more wary about how they portray the warp, and it's denizens. I fear without either some very inventive film making (i.e. breaking some conventions and rules) and a massive budget, they'd just do it as an abstract tunnel sort of thing, like the various trope-ish "warps" and "hyperspaces" of sci-fidom. Picture warpsace from Babylon 5 except other colors than red. I also think it'd be hard to make deamons that we could take seriously, other than Bloodletters and Bloodthirsters. I'm worried that "Pink Horrors" might come out more as "Pink Ommpa-Loompas."

I think the best way to portray the warp as a place of ever-changing absurdity and madness is to have things going on in the background of the characters that they simply don't notice. Have the backdrop start out as something like a Roman Colosseum, or a castle, and then the change of a camera angle puts them on the main street of a small Americana town in the mid 1950's, without any reaction from the characters. Apply random filters, like sepia, black and white, and inverted, again with the charachters not noticing. Have them break they 4th wall. (Not directly, but have a guy see, "I feel like rows of people are watching us right now. Watching, and judging...") Make scenes in the warp utterly confusing, because that's the only way for us to comprehend it.

BlackMath wrote: Here's a plot you'll never see (speaking of unfilmable aspects of WH40K): Marine army lands on mysterious planet and starts getting attacked by horrifying robotic skeleton's, floating pyramids, and flying spyders. After a long, arduous battle, right when the climactic final push to decide victory happens, the skeletons vanish and the credits roll.

Are you kidding? That'd be incredible! It's got buildup, climax, and the BOOM! Nothing. It's not neatly wrapped up "Mission Accomplished, we killed all the baddies" that 99% of action movie tripe ends up being. Amp up the creepyness. Have them explore the final fortress for a good 10 minutes, the whole time exuding this "Holy gak, where the feth did they go?" feeling.