Henry Cavill's New Prime Video Sci-Fi Saga Makes The DC Universe Look Small

Published Oct 18, 2026, 2:45 PM EDT Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones). DC made Henry Cavill one of its many on-screen iterations of Superman, but we already know this won't be the most expansive or cohesive bit of lore he will be part of. Cavill has made quite a name for himself within the fantasy and sci-fi landscapes, and it seems like any project he becomes attached to becomes the center of intense excitement and anticipation. His stint as Superman was obviously something special, especially considering the legacy of this massive Universe. The stories from these comics, movies, and TV shows have been around for decades, and that's no small thing. Superhero canon and lore are famously (and infamously) complex and grandiose, and DC is obviously no exception. There are thousands of individual comic issues from multiple writers detailing parallel earths, alternate futures, and an almost infinite number of the same heroes and villains. Cavill's Superman is simply a small part of the larger picture, but this is a universe he will now be pretty definitively absent from. DC has moved on to a new batch of Superman movies, leaving Cavill free to explore other projects, and boy does he have a lot on the way. Among Cavill's most exciting upcoming projects is his live-action Warhammer 40k series with Prime Video. The actor will serve as both star and producer for the project, with horror legend Mike Flanagan stepping in as writer and showrunner. There's a great deal to get pumped about with this Warhammer 40k adaptation, especially since Cavill himself is a massive fan of the tabletop miniature wargame and sci-fi franchise. He has repeatedly stated that a great deal of vetting is being done on Flanagan's script, as Cavill ensures strict adherence to the lore. In addition to Cavill's live-action Warhammer 40k TV show, multiple related animated projects, including a Deathwatch series, are in the works. While it's always preferable that adaptations adhere to canon, this is especially daunting for Warhammer. This sci-fi world hasn't been around quite as long as DC, and the timeline doesn't span multiple realities and universes in the same way. However, the lore here is still insanely massive, and, unlike DC, it's largely cohesive. Warhammer 40k spans hundreds of novels, codices, and sourcebooks, all of which come together to detail more than 10,000 in-world years. With such a solid continuity, Cavill really has his work cut out for him. Henry Cavill Is No Stranger To Massively Expansive Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lore (But This Will Be Different) Cavill has made a reputation for himself as a sort of champion of sci-fi and fantasy. He isn't just an actor who happens to work in these genres but a genuine fan of some of the most sprawling, complex franchises. Cavill brings passion and fan power to his work with an intimate understanding of Superman and The Witcher, as prime examples. In fact, he is known to advocate heavily for accuracy across these projects—something that doesn't always end well. Strict accuracy is almost impossible to achieve in adaptations, especially when it comes to highly complex fantasy and sci-fi lore. It's been rumored that Cavill stepped away from The Witcher—another franchise he is a personal, passionate fan of—because Netflix strayed too far from the source material. This has never been confirmed, but the fact that Cavill has since signed on for more creative positions in other passion projects seems to speak volumes. It seems that he doesn't just want to star in another live-action adaptation of a story and world he loves, but also to help ensure it delivers precisely what fans like him are looking for. Interestingly, faithfulness and accuracy are a bit easier to pull off for projects within the DC Universe. This franchise comes with a structure that makes changes, adjustments, and recasting extremely easy to pull off. There are hundreds of threads headed in all different directions, and redundancies can be avoided by simply adding on another one. This is the sort of massive world Cavill has generally been a part of, but Warhammer 40k is something else entirely. The lore isn't just massive. It is, rather astonishingly, linear, and therefore entirely unforgiving. Said and done, Henry Cavill's DC stint will look rather small.