For the past year a professional contract 3D artist has been quietly making the best Warhammer 40,000 film yet created. Astartes, funded by this Patreon, is planned to be a five-part CGI miniseries about a small scale ship-to-ship engagement between a Space Marine detachment and some traitorous guardsmen. It's wordless, moody, and perfect.
The animation and audio design is outstanding, and shows a meticulous attention to detail. Bolters, plasma pistols, and lascannons are spot on—shout out to the Space Marine that passes all his armour saves in part three.
The Space Marines, silent and indomitable, are the quick tactical combat savants that Games Workshop's fiction has always described. They move with efficiency and silent purpose and adapt as Tactical Marines would, flanking with suppressing fire in part four to enable other members of the squad to get close to high-threat enemies.
There are moments of great direction too. The sight of a plasma shot whipping across an abyss to silence a heavy weapon emplacement has me wishing for an Astartes HBO series. I can't wait for part five.
Kudos also to Games Workshop, who could have sent lawyers to squash this ages ago. Fan projects like these show great respect for the fiction, and ultimately further enrich the Warhammer 40,000 universe for seasoned fans and newcomers alike.
Parts one to four are embedded below. The concluding video is still in development.
