An April Fool’s joke that arrived a day late – and still managed to be the best one of the year.
Space Marines Are Singing, And It Actually Works
Games Workshop has sent the community into a collective frenzy with “The Emperor Protects: A Warhammer 40,000 Musical.” Fully costumed Space Marines and Battle Sisters belting out songs like Suffer Not the Alien To Live, My Collection and There Is Only the Emperor sounds ridiculous on paper – but it looks genuinely impressive in execution. The costumes are con-level quality, the songs have real earworm potential, and the whole thing is shot and presented like a professional stage production teaser.
The Real Joke Is Hidden Behind the Trailer
What separates this from a standard April Fool’s gag is how committed Games Workshop is to the bit. Clicking the ticket link doesn’t lead to an error page or another punchline – it leads to a full behind-the-scenes documentary-style video. Rehearsal footage, production conversations, commentary from producers Adam and Eddie, all played completely straight. “I think there are parts of Warhammer 40,000 that can only be expressed through music,” Eddie says without breaking character for a second. And on the Necron getting an upbeat pop song: “A lot of people thought it wasn’t appropriate. We made it anyway.”
The Community Is Already Trying To Manifest This Into Reality
The YouTube comments section has turned into a collective manifestation effort. The Warhammer fanbase – not exactly known for doing things halfway – wants this musical on an actual stage. Several people in the comments have identified the performers as real cosplayers from the convention circuit, including the Battle Sister and Trazyn the Infinite as the Necron. If tickets existed, they’d already be sold out.
April 1st, 2027 – Joke or Actual Announcement?
At the end of the behind-the-scenes video, a date appears: The Emperor Protects opens April 1st, 2027. Officially still a joke. But Games Workshop now has three finished songs, a capable ensemble, official lore consultants, and costumes that could survive a real run. The investment in this bit is far too deep to simply abandon it in twelve months. Something is going to happen next April Fool’s – the only question is how real it gets.
