SECRET LEVEL Creators Talk About Its "Warhammer 40k" Episode and Address Henry Cavill's Adaptation
Fans seems to be getting pretty pumped up about Prime Video’s upcoming animated video game anthology series Secret Level, which will adapt more than 15 games into short stories.
One of those stories will be set in the world of Warhammer 40k, and in a recent interview with GamesRadar+, creator Tim Miller and executive producer Dave Wilson were asked if it will in any way be connected to Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40k series project, which is also being produced by Prime Video.
Wilson responded: “They're pretty separate right now. I will say, we've been close with Games Workshop for years and I'm a massive Warhammer fan. We did an episode of 40k 20 years ago to the year at Blur [Studios], and it was one of my favorite and proudest moments of my time with Blur.
“I've been itching to get back to 40k for those two decades. But, you know, these franchises don't belong to us, or anyone in Hollywood, they belong to the creatives in Nottingham who have kept that franchise alive for 40 years, right?
"Whatever Henry is doing and whatever plans we may have, all we really want to do is raise that franchise up a little higher if we can. If we can be complementary to whatever we're doing together, that would be amazing.
“The truth is there are so many stories to tell in Warhammer that even if there were 10 people trying to tell there would be enough for everybody."
Wilson went on to talk about the team behind Warhammer 40k and how they are careful about who they allow to touch the property, saying: "The folks at Games Workshop are incredibly sharp and mindful of their franchise. It is the one nice thing about them being successful, for a lack of a better way of putting it, they're wary, right?
“They don't need Hollywood to come in, they were successful before we borrowed what they had. So I think they want to make sure it gets done right, and they will take as much time as is necessary to do that."
Wilson went on to point out that Miller actually met with the creators many years prior for a movie that didn't work out. Miller explained: "When we did that first project 20 years ago, they said, 'Oh, this was really great, we'd love to make a movie.' And I said, 'Well, let's go talk to some of the studios' because we knew people.
"And the very first meeting, I got such an education in the game business that I was shocked, because everybody, or at least I did and I think a lot of people do, they have this impression of like, 'Oh my gosh, Hollywood comes calling and we're going to make a movie.'
“But to them, it was like, 'Eh, we make these games, and they're hugely popular, and we make really great money, and the fans love it. And if you made a bad movie, it's not gonna help us. And if you make a good movie, it's really not gonna move the needle that much.' So the the the incentive for them is not that large, and it's only if you make a great movie."
Each episode of Secret Level serves as “a gateway to a new adventure, unlocking exciting worlds from beloved gaming classics and highly anticipated new titles.
“Prepare for an unforgettable journey, where Amazon MGM Studios and gaming’s finest unite in a first-of-its-kind event that brings together more game IP in a single series than has ever been done before.
Here is the list of games that inspired the 15 epic stories found in the series: Armored Core, Concord, Crossfire, Dungeons & Dragons, Exodus, Honor of Kings, Mega Man, New World: Aeternum, PAC-MAN, PlayStation (Highlighting various PlayStation Studios beloved entities), Sifu, Spelunky, The Outer Worlds, Unreal Tournament, and Warhammer 40,000.
The voice cast includes Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Kevin Hart (Jumanji), Keanu Reeves (John Wick), Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us, Terminator: Dark Fate), Temuera Morrison (The Book of Boba Fett, Chief of War) and Ariana Greenblatt (Barbie).
Other members of the cast include Patrick Schwarzenegger (The White Lotus), Heaven Hart, Emily Swallow (The Mandalorian), Ricky Whittle (American Gods, Land of Bad), Merle Dandridge (The Last of Us), Claudia Doumit (The Boys), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost, The Union), Clive Standen (Vikings, The Morning Show), Laura Bailey (The Legend of Vox Machina), and Michael Beach (Tulsa King).
Secret Level will be available exclusively on Prime Video on December 10.