Henry Cavill‘s upcoming Warhammer 40,000 TV show has the potential to be amazing, hopefully breaking the actor’s unfortunate Rotten Tomatoes trend. An avid Warhammer fan himself, Cavill has dropped handfuls of teases about the new TV show. It will be the first movie or TV adaptation modeled after the popular tabletop game, and this means plenty of creative opportunities.
Warhammer 40k will be Cavill‘s first time with his hands “on the till,” as the actor said himself in a recent update. It’s up to him and the team with Amazon and Games Workshop to comb through the lore of this IP to identify the appropriate angle for the TV show. This is no easy task, since Warhammer doesn’t have a singlar central narrative. Still, the project is in good hands. Cavill’s love for Warhammer is bound to make the new TV show spectacular, and that would be a great thing for his career.
Henry Cavill Has Never Appeared In A “Certified Fresh” TV Show
There’s no doubt that Cavill is a star, especially in the nerd-dom landscape. However, as far as his previous work in TV goes, he hasn’t had any definitive critical hits. Cavill’s first TV appearance came 22 years ago in a 2003 episode of Midsomer Murders. Though this series has a fair score from general audiences, it wasn’t significant enough to attract critics.
Cavill’s next TV show was the historical drama The Tudors. He gained some renown from this series, and The Tudors holds an impressive 83% audience score. However, it didn’t achieve that coveted “Certified Fresh” badge of honor since the critic score sits at 69%.
After The Tudors, Cavill didn’t star in another series until the divisive The Witcher in 2019. This is another franchise that Cavill is a personal fan of, so hopes were high that Netflix’s fantasy TV show would be a hit. Unfortunately, wave after wave of changes from canon and other controversies have left The Witcher with a mediocre 75% critic score and abysmal 46% audience score.
This brings us to the present. Cavill famously left Netflix’s The Witcher, leaving actor Liam Hemsworth to take over the role of Geralt of Rivia. The decision to depart, though likely due to a variety of reasons, was reportedly driven by Cavill’s desire to focus on other projects. This may include Warhammer 40k—Cavill’s best chance at turning his TV show career around.
Warhammer 40k Could Fix Henry Cavill’s RT Streak (But There’s 1 Potential Problem)
Everyone is pretty pumped about Warhammer 40k. From where we stand, it looks as if Cavill and the rest of the creative team behind the project are putting in the utmost care to ensure this TV show is great. This could be enough to finally secure a “Certified Fresh” score on one of Cavill’s TV projects, uniting critics and audiences, and breaking the long trend of divisive shows.
Of course, there’s no way to guarantee that Warhammer 40k will be a success. The fact that this franchise lacks a singlar narrative can be a benefit, as it allows Cavill and his team some creative liberties. However, the whole point of these sorts of game franchises is that players can assign them their own meaning. Warhammer means something a little different to everybody, and pleasing them all won’t be easy.
Cavill’s status as a Warhammer fan gives him a leg up, but he surely knows by now how difficult it is to adapt a beloved IP to the screen in a way that fans are happy with.
Cavill’s status as a Warhammer fan gives him a leg up, but he surely knows by now how difficult it is to adapt a beloved IP to the screen in a way that fans are happy with. After the crash-and-burn that has been The Witcher, audiences are sure to be extra critical. Still, if Cavill can pull this off, he won’t just have broken his Rotten Tomatoes TV trend. He will have solidified his place in the TV industry for years to come.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
