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I believe it's widely accepted that the movie Event Horizon fits pretty well into the 40k background as humanity's first contact with the warp. I think in 40k lore it's after M15 that humans really discover what it is and how to use it to travel, but the movie serves as an initial contact followed by humanity's general agreement of 'let's just leave that where we found it' for a few thousand years.

Now I know the setting is ripped off from a lot of other science fiction, but are there any other examples that might fit as well? I ask because i just watched 'The Man From Earth,' a really low budget movie about a professor claiming to be 14,000 years old. It's not a great film but if you watch it it might give some though as to the mentality of the character of the Emperor as he experiences human history and tries to guide it in the right direction.

Any thoughts or examples are welcome.

Also I didn't put this is the background forum as it's not really a discussion of established 40k background, just asking everyone to bounce some ideas around.

I think in part the movie Pandorum fits the dark terror part of 40k, even if some of the literal premise doesn't fit.

But as a story of a Imperial ship on it's way to a new colony planet and facing disaster, I think it could work.

Besides "Event Horizon" (some fans like to consider it an unofficial prequel to 40k), and the felinids of Carlos McConnell (anime catgirl influence), I can't think of any off the top of my head.


However, there are several references to some Heresy-era/40k characters having influenced, or were part of, historical events. The traitorous Human Perpetual Damon Prytanis alluded to himself being the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis. Probably under orders from the Cabal, since he was recruited in 1945. That is just one example.

Event Horizon has long been considered the "unofficial prequel" to 40k, the tale of how humanity discovered warp travel

Even though the timelines don't match up, I imagine the humans of the dark age of technology to be very similar to the pre-historic human interstellar empire in the halo universe.

In the latest season of Dr Who a character gains immortality and loses her compassion for and connection to mortals over her long life. This sits well with the general disdain shown by the near immortal Astartes. The Doctor deliberately seeks out mortals as his companions as their short life span allows them to reach some conclusions much faster than him and ensures he is not too flippant with the lives of all mortals. This sort of suits the Salamander's philosophy on mortals civilians.
Not exactly a history match up but a similar reaction to extended life spans

At the risk of dragging in the authors' (the original authors', at least) influences, I'd definitely see worlds very much like those of Judge Dredd and Dorian Hawkmoon having formed parts of the Age of Strife/Unification Wars on Terra.

A personal (and very probably insane) one is to picture the era of the Crusade as being a bit like Blake's 7. (A British sci-if show of the late '70s; a sort of anti-Star Trek, made on a tiny budget.)