Henry Cavill can't stop thinking about Warhammer, even on The Witcher set

We know (and gosh, just love) Henry Cavill as a card-carrying PC gamer and star of The Witcher on Netflix, but he's also well known as a fan of Warhammer. And I don't mean that he played Total War: Warhammer 2, although he does play it quite a lot—I mean, he's in it. He also paints Warhammer miniatures, and earlier this year sparked a meme-led campaign to cast him as the Emperor of Mankind in a new HBO series. (Which, for the record, doesn't actually exist—but given how things have gone with Game of Thrones and The Witcher, isn't the worst idea I've ever heard.)

As Warhammer cred goes, it's pretty solid, and Cavill handily dispelled any doubts about it in an interview during last week's WitcherCon. Naturally, he was there to discuss all things Witcher, but as the chat drew to a close he indulged his inner Custodes with an aside about a chandelier.

"There's something I've been dying to say," Cavill said. "Sorry, this is completely—I just—every day on set, on this set, I was grinding my teeth because there was no one who would know the reference that I'm about to give you."

"That chandelier looks like a Blackstone Fortress," he continued, pointing at the great, Gothic fixture hanging from the ceiling. "I know that no one on set would've got that, and so I've been biting my tongue about that ... I don't know if that's the inspiration, but that thing looks like a Blackstone Fortress."

(Image credit: Netflix)

First things first—a quick dip into Warhammer lore. Blackstone Fortresses are massive, Warp-based ships and weapons of mass destruction, discovered during the 33rd Millennium but not awoken until the Gothic War, when Abaddon the Despoiler discovered the secret to bringing their full capabilities to life. Both the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos have Blackstone Fortress in their possession, but they are believed to have been constructed during the War in Heaven between the Old Ones and the Necrons, which took place 60 million years prior to the 41st Millennium.

Man, I love that Warhammer lore.

Anyway, do they look alike? I have to say yes, they kind of do:

If you missed it the first time around, you can catch Cavill's full WitcherCon interview below.

The Witcher: WitcherCon | Tales from the White Wolf with Henry Cavill Panel | Netflix - YouTube The Witcher: WitcherCon | Tales from the White Wolf with Henry Cavill Panel | Netflix - YouTube
Watch On
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
A space marine fighting a tzaangor on a flying disc in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 made millions for Games Workshop, and now it wants more hit videogames: "Clearly we are looking for the next one"
A space marine of the Mortifactors chapter in the teaser for Astartes 2
The trailer for Astartes 2, the official follow-up to 40K fan film Astartes, goes unbelievably hard
helldivers 2 urban legends
Arrowhead CEO says Games Workshop 'would love' a 40K Helldivers 2 crossover, 'but time and resources are finite and we've got our hands busy'
Total War: Warhammer 3 Grand Cathay faction
A not-so-subtle tease suggests Games Workshop is finally bringing Total War: Warhammer 3's Grand Cathay army to the tabletop wargame
A space marine battling a chaos space marine in Space Marine 2.
Hasbro is working with Saber Interactive on a 'tentpole' IP using Space Marine 2's swarm tech
An Imperial commissar casts a sardonic glance over his shoulder
It's worth subscribing to Warhammer+ for a month just to marathon the animations, then cancel your sub
Latest in Movies & TV
MrBeast posing in front of a stack of cashing, promoting Beast Games season 2
Beast Games opens casting for season 2: MrBeast lost a ton of money on season 1 but apparently not enough that he won't do it again
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Dante smiling
'No AI used': Netflix's Devil May Cry showrunner confirms that all of Kevin Conroy's lines were recorded before he passed
Devil May Cry Netflix screenshots
We've just got a first look at Vergil in Netflix's upcoming Devil May Cry series alongside another key character from Devil May Cry 3
Pedro Pascal as Joel in a coat in winter looking unhappy
'Don't you know what he did?': The truth comes out in The Last of Us Season 2 trailer
Latest in News
CS 1.6 remade in CS: Legacy.
A gorgeous ground-up remake of Counter-Strike 1.6 is on its way to Steam, and one of the game's original creators says 'it really gives me old vibes'
Portal P3 pinball table
There's a new Portal game and it costs $12,500
MrBeast posing in front of a stack of cashing, promoting Beast Games season 2
Beast Games opens casting for season 2: MrBeast lost a ton of money on season 1 but apparently not enough that he won't do it again
Image for
Rise of the Ronin's PC troubles continue as players report disappearing saves on Steam
Former Treyarch studio co-head and Black Ops 3 director is heading up a new first-party PlayStation studio
Metro Exodus
'I want to raise this glass to our fans, to our community': 4A Games celebrates Metro 2033's 15th anniversary and hints at next Metro game