Henry Cavill will star in a new Warhammer series after Amazon struck a deal to bring the hit gaming franchise to TV and film.

The news is a welcome boost for the British actor, coming a day after he announced he would not be returning as comic book icon Superman after bosses at DC opted to recast the role.

It also gives the 39-year-old another opportunity to step into one of his favourite fantasy worlds, having previously starred in Netflix’s The Witcher, which was inspired by a book and video game series of which Cavill is a huge fan.

Cavill is also a keen Warhammer player and will be “bringing his lore expertise” to Amazon’s productions, serving as both executive producer and lead actor.

“I have loved Warhammer since I was a boy, making this moment truly special for me,” he said.

“The opportunity to shepherd this cinematic universe from its inception is quite the honour and the responsibility.”

The Mission: Impossible and Enola Holmes star, who regularly shares pictures of his hand-painted collection of Warhammer figures on Instagram, said the role was “a nigh-on lifelong dream come true”.

What is Warhammer?

Warhammer began as and is best known for being a tabletop strategy game.

But is also a major player in video games, with dozens of releases to its name over the course of almost 30 years.

Amazon’s deal with franchise owner Games Workshop includes rights to a TV series and films.

The Nottingham-based company has a market value of £2.7bn and operates more than 500 stores.

It said it had “reached an agreement in principle” with Amazon.

“While the parties have reached agreement on material commercial terms, the project is wholly dependent on and subject to contracts being agreed and entered into, which the parties are working towards,” said a statement.

Amazon’s push into gaming

It marks another move by Amazon to snap up film and TV rights to popular gaming franchises, having previously secured deals to produce shows based on the Fallout and God Of War series.

The company is also eyeing up a bigger role in gaming itself, announcing on Thursday that it was working on an upcoming entry in the long-running Tomb Raider series.

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Amazon said it would be publishing the next game and providing “full support” to developer Crystal Dynamics on a “narrative-driven adventure” filled with “mind-bending puzzles to solve” and plenty of enemies to face.

Tomb Raider, starring protagonist Lara Croft, was created by British studio Core Design and debuted in 1996.

The latest instalment, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, released in 2018.