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With the almost endless history, background and lore of the universe (not to mention the fanbase) is there any reason why a feature length movie hasn't been made? And why?

Do you think there is any possibility that one will be made in the future?

There was one, based on the Ultramarines. CGI and straight to DVD though.

I'd rather see on focused on the IG with maybe the marines making a quick appearance near the end of it for the final push.

Having just read Storm of Iron, I really believe that it would suite the movie format.

You have a self contained story that encompass guard, ad mech, marines, and traitors...with huge battles and small fights, intrigue, and deception. All without being too long, drawn out, or superfluous.

My vote:
Storm of Iron (2015)

n0t_u wrote:There was one, based on the Ultramarines. CGI and straight to DVD though.

I'd rather see on focused on the IG with maybe the marines making a quick appearance near the end of it for the final push.

Wasn't exactly a blockbuster movie was it though. I'm talking about a big budget franchise that will see the universe propelled into the wider public. Let's face it, as movies go it has everything for it to be able to be a self sustained generator of interest. Movie watchers are crying out for great sci-fi movie.

I really don't think GW would have the capital to launch out a blockbuster movie, no matter how expensive Finecast is.

Maybe GW should be out there looking for a backer then. It's not often that films are made on thier own nowadays anyway. Most are done in partnership. Marvel comics being a great example of this.

I saw Ultramarines and it was okay but not great. Dont get me wrong i liked it and would love a sequel but i dont think Gw will try it again any time soon
because it was a flop for lack of a better word

If they do make a another movie i think it should be the trilogy of fire because its about the salamanders and guard and ork and dark eldar and Chaos with traitors and prophecy

but like i said not gonna happen for a long time

I would like to see a proper 40k movie.
Though it has to have an R rating; I want my grimdark bloodshed dammit, not some toned down kid friendly crap.

Sorry to say this but if they ever do launch a movie something tells me that it will be an ultramarine*gag* based movie even tho I agree with Lightcavalier that storm of iron would be a good one to show just knowing GW and Ward the UM will be the focus of any major production. Then again I could also see them doing a movie with a Stargate style plan with it flowing over to SyFy network into a series....which wouldn't be all bad if certain chars came over from the big screen with the series... then it could be based on HH or even blend the different omnibus' together, or just go with a benign theme mixing IG with SM vs. all the different Xenos.... Just an idea GW(hint hint hint)

The Ultramarines movie was terrible, lol. Talk about a huge disappointment. The animation was decent, but the story was lackluster, and the whole concept was just kinda stupid. Dan Abnett must have written it half asleep, high as hell on Ambien.

From what I have read in the past Hollywood have tried story boards for 40k but have been shot down by gw due to the way they wanted to change the ip

Daston wrote:From what I have read in the past Hollywood have tried story boards for 40k but have been shot down by gw due to the way they wanted to change the ip

In what ways? Make it happier, more heroic? Dumber?

GW is *very* touchy about their intellectual property, since when you get down to it, that's basically all they have. Their games are all a bit crap anyway, they rely almost entirely on the draw of their various universes to keep people buying their models. I imagine they have refused Hollywood's advances based more on control of rights to their IP than anything else. Any movie Hollywood puts out these days is as much about the merchandising as ticket sales, and GW will never give anyone a license to essentially compete with themselves. It's sad but unless they found some angel investor who was willing to bankroll a big-budget movie without wanting much of anything in return, I doubt we'll ever see a 40k movie.

I doubt GW has been the limiting factor on a real movie getting made. I think the fact is that no serious studio is going to put real money into making a 40K movie. It's not a big enough license, and to do it "right" in a live action format would be absurdly expensive.

Movies based on games don't usually do all that well unless they cross into a genre that's already popular like Resident Evil's zombie movies. And the last thing you want to do is sell your license to Uwe Boll.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:I doubt GW has been the limiting factor on a real movie getting made. I think the fact is that no serious studio is going to put real money into making a 40K movie. It's not a big enough license, and to do it "right" in a live action format would be absurdly expensive.

But that's the catch. When has Hollywood ever cared about doing something "right"? You can take a source (like the Starship Troopers novel, or GI Joe) and make a big-budget movie that is directly antithetical to the message or tone or details of the original and make a ton of money doing it. But GW would never allow that. They rely too much on their IP to sell their game and would never cede even partial control of it to a Hollywood studio.

GW lacks the money to make a real movie with a capable staff involved. It could publish 100 books for the price of a movie like that, probably more. Direct-to-video movies are by and large terrible, and GW will and can only afford these.

40k lacks the popular culture brand recognition, the universe is too complicated to appeal to mainstream audiences, and so on. There could be a surprise hit like Starship troopers, but that'd provide directing and writing talent far beyond what GW can fork out.

I've seen movies based on Korean comics that had more of a 40k feeling than what I got from the Ultramarines trailer. And it had a bigger budget than what GW was willing to invest, too.

The setting has so much potential, but I just can't see the company exploiting it in the "right" way. If they ever make a movie again, I'm fairly sure it will be about Space Marines once more, as 50% of GW's activity seems to revolve around them. It's a crowd pleaser, and any movie would be made for the masses, not the most ardent fans who may have a wider perception of what 40k is capable of.

CalgarsPimpHand wrote:

Veteran Sergeant wrote:I doubt GW has been the limiting factor on a real movie getting made. I think the fact is that no serious studio is going to put real money into making a 40K movie. It's not a big enough license, and to do it "right" in a live action format would be absurdly expensive.

But that's the catch. When has Hollywood ever cared about doing something "right"? You can take a source (like the Starship Troopers novel, or GI Joe) and make a big-budget movie that is directly antithetical to the message or tone or details of the original and make a ton of money doing it. But GW would never allow that. They rely too much on their IP to sell their game and would never cede even partial control of it to a Hollywood studio.

GW doesn't care about the IP nearly as much as you think. It protects the miniatures line jealously, but look at all the garbage ass Black Library books that come out. There are so many canon conflicts, and just plain bad novels, even amongst their coveted Horus Heresy line. The sanctity of the universe is hardly a concern, lol.

If a real studio came in with high dollar backing, they'd sell the rights in a second, and not care if they wanted to make small changes to the license. But the truth is, there's probably never been any serious interest in the IP. GW cares about the money. They aren't going to sell the license cheap.

wanna make a point that they really do only care about money

... *clears throat* ... FINECAST

salamander117 wrote:wanna make a point that they really do only care about money

... *clears throat* ... FINECAST

Exactly. Last I saw GW were listed on the stockmarket so really it's only ever about making money. Which makes the Point that they really haven't realised the potential of their brand. This film needs to be made.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:

CalgarsPimpHand wrote:

Veteran Sergeant wrote:I doubt GW has been the limiting factor on a real movie getting made. I think the fact is that no serious studio is going to put real money into making a 40K movie. It's not a big enough license, and to do it "right" in a live action format would be absurdly expensive.

But that's the catch. When has Hollywood ever cared about doing something "right"? You can take a source (like the Starship Troopers novel, or GI Joe) and make a big-budget movie that is directly antithetical to the message or tone or details of the original and make a ton of money doing it. But GW would never allow that. They rely too much on their IP to sell their game and would never cede even partial control of it to a Hollywood studio.

GW doesn't care about the IP nearly as much as you think. It protects the miniatures line jealously, but look at all the garbage ass Black Library books that come out. There are so many canon conflicts, and just plain bad novels, even amongst their coveted Horus Heresy line. The sanctity of the universe is hardly a concern, lol.

If a real studio came in with high dollar backing, they'd sell the rights in a second, and not care if they wanted to make small changes to the license. But the truth is, there's probably never been any serious interest in the IP. GW cares about the money. They aren't going to sell the license cheap.

Pretty much this. If GW had an opportunity to make millions over "mainstream" 40k showing Space Marines be like the Mobile Infantry in Starship troopers (the movie) they would.

Though the Imperial Guard fulfills the role of "cannon fodder being chewed up in a futile meat grinder due to a corrupt/uncaring/tyrannical government" very well and Starship Troopers the movie can basically be IG vs Tyranids with a few minor adjustements, so there isn't much of a point for this kind of deviation.

Harriticus wrote:Pretty much this. If GW had an opportunity to make millions over "mainstream" 40k showing Space Marines be like the Mobile Infantry in Starship troopers (the movie) they would.
Though the Imperial Guard fulfills the role of "cannon fodder being chewed up in a futile meat grinder due to a corrupt/uncaring/tyrannical government" very well and Starship Troopers the movie can basically be IG vs Tyranids with a few minor adjustements, so there isn't much of a point for this kind of deviation.

Sadly, I would expect the beancounters in charge to reason that a movie with Space Marines would make more money than one with the IG, so ...

CthuluIsSpy wrote:

Daston wrote:From what I have read in the past Hollywood have tried story boards for 40k but have been shot down by gw due to the way they wanted to change the ip

In what ways? Make it happier, more heroic? Dumber?

The movie 'Warzone' had near nothing to do with the fluff from the game and even the costumes were badly done, being both cheaply done and completely wrong.

It's not a warhammer movie unless it has a depressing and bloody ending.

40K's not nearly popular enough in the US for Hollywood to really take any kind of notice. Just look at how iconic Spiderman is and has been for the past 40 or 50 years and how long it took before anything was really done with it. Sure a lack of technology played a big part in the wait, but still.

Eiríkr wrote:I really don't think GW would have the capital to launch out a blockbuster movie, no matter how expensive Finecast is.

I agree, a full length movie would be expensive and most of GW's efforts are to keep coming out with new models.

The thing is, an actual feature film wouldn't be financed by Games Workshop. That's not how mainstream Hollywood license films are made. GW would likely be paid for the use of the license, and then the money would be fronted by investors, and the studio that made it. GW doesn't have an in-house film studio.

beezley1981 wrote:40K's not nearly popular enough in the US for Hollywood to really take any kind of notice.

The same could be said of the comic which resulted in the "Priest" movie, tho. Or a number of other obscure franchises which received a movie adaption.

In fact, this reminds me ...




Don't tell me that this P&P is more popular than 40k - I've never even heard of it before having seen the movie. A movie which actually feels quite 40k'ish as well, considering it has boltguns, Aquila banners, drop pods, and mutants.

If GW really wanted, I'm sure they could get investors interested. General IP oversight would be part of the contract, just like their deals with THQ. Games Workshop didn't finance the Dawn of War games either, after all.

No one has mentioned the Lord Inquisitor yet. It's a fan made movie now sanctioned by GW because it's going to be so much better than Ultramarines... if they get a better voice actor than in the trailer that is.. check it out:

As a note, Mutant Chronicles was never released anywhere other than Russia. It cost an estimated $25mil to make, and has so far made back $1.2m.

English-language torrents are available, though, which is how I saw it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490181/