Games Workshop has thrilled Warhammer 40,000 fans by resurrecting the much-anticipated Astartes 2 with a stunning teaser trailer. However, there's a twist: none of the content shown in the teaser will actually appear in the final animation.
Astartes 2 is the sequel to the fan-favorite original Astartes animation crafted by Syama Pedersen, which is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Warhammer 40,000 animations, rivaled only by the recent Space Marine 2 animation from Amazon's Secret Level anthology series. The success of the original Astartes even influenced Saber Interactive's Space Marine 2, leading Games Workshop to hire Syama Pedersen to work on this sequel.
After years of silence, leaving fans to speculate about its fate, Games Workshop surprised everyone with the teaser trailer's release on January 29. The trailer promises an unprecedented scale of animation for Warhammer 40,000, featuring intense melee and shooting battles, vehicle combat, and epic spaceship confrontations. It showcases various Space Marine chapters battling across diverse landscapes against multiple enemy factions, including Tyranids, Orks, and Tau.
It's not even February yet and the Ws for 2025 won't stop coming! Astartes is back, Brothers! pic.twitter.com/sYhu5LjwiC
— Champions of the Ice (@ChampionsOTIce2) January 29, 2025
While the teaser has generated significant excitement, Games Workshop clarified on the Warhammer Community website that it does not contain actual clips from Astartes 2. Instead, it's a montage representing the past lives of the characters who will appear in the series. The post also teases a subtle hint about the final story's nature, inviting fans to piece together the narrative themselves.
This revelation might disappoint some fans who expected to see the showcased scenes in the final product, especially since the trailer lacks a disclaimer. Many may miss the clarification on the Warhammer Community post, leading to potential confusion.
Despite this, the teaser has sparked fan theories and excitement. The final image suggests that the characters might form an Inquisition-led Deathwatch Terminator squad, though the full scope of the story remains a mystery.
The teaser has also caught the attention of Space Marine 2 enthusiasts, who are envious of the Astartes 2 visuals and hope to see similar elements, such as capes, incorporated into their game. As Saber Interactive continues to update Space Marine 2, fans are hopeful that the developers will draw further inspiration from Astartes.
