Modiphius Entertainment has announced they are working to bring their tabletop gaming universe Achtung! Cthulhu to the big screen. The company has signed script writer Dirk Vandereyken and director Raine McCormack to work on the film adaptation.

The Achtung! Cthulhu setting uses the writings of H.P. Lovecraft – arguably the most influential horror author ever – and the events unfolding just before and during World War II as source material to unveil the horrific secret history of what was actually going on behind the scenes. It presents a nightmarish alliance of science and the occult, frightening inhuman conspiracies from the depths of time and unbelievable war machines created just as much by the infernal ovens of the German factories as by dark incantations chanted by a select group of immoral, Cthulhu-worshiping Nazi researchers. It also features the heroes of the time, flawed but courageous human beings making a stand in the idle hope of postponing the inevitable demise of humankind foretold in antediluvian manuscripts tucked away in hidden corners of the world’s greatest museums.

Many of the characters, villains and creatures in the film are drawn from the pages and inspirational graphic art of the critically acclaimed Achtung! Cthulhu books and will also be making an appearance in Dark Tales, an anthology of short stories set in the same universe, whilst Modiphius has just launched a large range of collectible miniatures based on the universe.

Modiphius Entertainment was launched in 2013 with the Kickstarter hit for Achtung! Cthulhu, a tabletop roleplaying game, raising over £200,000 in funding, and unlocking 11 books and over 2000 pages of storyline inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. A subsequent Kickstarter by Paris-based Devil Pig Games this Summer raised £150,000 for a licensed boardgame based on Achtung! Cthulhu which showed the brand has huge potential and Modiphius has also raised £150,000 for the reboot of the massive 90’s gaming brand Mutant Chronicles. Modiphius recently announced a co-operative boardgame based on the Thunderbirds license with designer Matt Leacock at the helm.

The team is already in talks with film investors and have begun preliminary casting. Achtung! Cthulhu – The Secret War will be following the usual process for feature film funding, with  shooting slated for Summer 2015. Modiphius is considering a Kickstarter in the Spring of 2015 to top up the budget as well as funding a series of roleplaying supplements and other games tied in to the storyline of the movies. Achtung! Cthulhu is envisaged as a series of films following the exploits of various characters through the Secret War and will be accompanied by a special web series for fans.