About

Astartes was originally a fan-made Warhammer 40,000 animation by New Zealand-based artist Syama Pedersen, released on YouTube between 2018 and 2019. The five-part series gained widespread acclaim for its high-quality depiction of Space Marines (also known as the Adeptus Astartes) in battle, leading Games Workshop, the parent company of 40K, to bring Pedersen on board to continue his work officially under the brand. On January 29, 2025, the teaser for Astartes II (or Astartes 2) was released, hinting at a new anthology story and multipart mini-series centered on the elite Deathwatch Space Marines faction. The original Astartes fan film was well received by Warhammer fans for its high-quality animation and faithful portrayal of the game's lore, with fans showing similar enthusiasm for the second Astartes installment in 2025. The animation also inspired numerous memes and fan art depictions over the years, with various scenes from the original being used as different formats online.

History

Astartes (2018-2019)

Astartes is a five-part Warhammer 40,000 fan animation created by Auckland, New Zealand-based artist Syama Pedersen (Digital Bones Animation), released between 2018 and 2019 on YouTube. The series follows a squad of Space Marines from the Retributors fan-made chapter as they conduct a boarding action on a chaos ship that culminates in a fight with numerous cultists, a pair of psykers and an unknown, powerful enemy. The first episode, titled "Part One," was released on March 26th, 2018.^[10] The final episode, titled "Part Five," was released on April 2nd, 2020.

In 2020, Games Workshop officially brought Pedersen on board to continue his work under their Warhammer Animation division. The original Astartes series was then taken down from Pedersen's YouTube channel and put on the official subscription-based streaming service Warhammer TV in 2021.^[3]

The original short film can still be accessed on YouTube^[1] via numerous reuploads, such as an April 2nd, 2020, reupload by the YouTube channel AlfonsoMO, which gathered over 2 million views in four years.

Astartes II (2026)

Around November 2nd, 2020, a short teaser for Astartes 2 was released showing off various scenes of Space Marines from different chapters fighting. That day, the teaser was uploaded to the YouTube channel Bilbo-Teabaggins, receiving over 2.2 million views, 45,000 likes and 2,500 comments in four years.

On January 29th, 2025, Games Workshop released the official teaser trailer for Astartes II on YouTube^[2] and the Warhammer Community website,^[11] debuting the officially licensed sequel to the acclaimed fan film. The 80-second teaser showcases marine-on-xenos combat from several various chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. Notably, the trailer presents a compilation of shots representing the former lives of the characters set to appear in the series.

The final scene prominently displays a Deathwatch helmet emblazoned with the "I" symbol of the Inquisition faction, suggesting that Astartes II will focus on the Deathwatch, an elite unit of Space Marines specializing in combating alien threats to the Imperium of Mankind, who serve the Emperor. The series is slated for release in 2026 on the Warhammer TV platform. The trailer gathered over 1 million views in a day.

Online Presence

Astartes

The original Astartes animation was extremely well-received by the Warhammer 40,000 community and the internet in large following its initial release, spawning numerous viral reactions, memes, fan art depictions and discourse in the late 2010s and early 2020s.

On July 24th, 2019, Redditor^[5] /u/TheTurbanatore made a post to /r/Warhammer40k about the "Retributors" chapter introduced in Astartes and later officially integrated into Warhammer cannon. The post gathered over 9,000 points in six years.

Many different YouTubers, streamers and content creators posted reaction videos to Astartes as it garnered virality online, particularly after the final part was released on April 2nd, 2020.

For example, on April 3rd, Twitch streamer Asmongold uploaded an edit to his YouTube channel from his livestream reacting to parts one through five, receiving over 1.3 million views and 31,000 likes in four years. Warhammer YouTuber Majorkill then posted an explainer on the series and its protagonists the Retributors on May 25th, receiving over 726,000 views and 33,000 likes in a similar timeframe.

Around May 11th, 2012, an unknown 4chan user made an Abby Choke Edit meme referencing the scene from Astartes in which a Space Marine kills a corrupted psyker, which was archived on Know Your Meme by user Wearethewild. The meme was then later reposted to The Not So Grimdark Facebook^[12] page, receiving over 570 likes, 60 shares and 30 comments in two years.

On February 16th, 2021, Redditor^[4] /u/ByzantineBasileus made a post to /r/40kLore that read, "The short film 'Astartes' has now made me terrified of Space Marines," delving into how the first fan film's animation highlighted the characters' "mental and physical response times," in a significant way.

Astartes II

The release of the Astartes 2 trailer in late January 2025 quickly spawned significant media coverage, discussions and memes on social media platforms. A link to the trailer for Astartes II was reposted to Reddit's^[6] /r/Warhammer40k subreddit on January 29th, 2025, by Redditor /u/Arch_Magos_Remus, gathering over 12,000 upvotes on a post titled, "ITS FINALLY HAPPENING!"

Later on January 29th, Redditor^[7] /u/Burlyswing posted a You're As Beautiful As the Day I Lost You meme to the /r/Grimdank subreddit, gathering over 4,000 upvotes in a day.

That same day, Redditor^[8] /u/the-baguette153 posted a Vince McMahon Reaction meme to /r/Grimdank, gathering over 4,000 upvotes in a day.

Also on January 29th, 2025, X^[9] user @Skitzy___ posted a thread breaking down the Astartes II trailer, gathering over 11,000 likes in a day.

ASTARTES 2 Teaser Breakdown#warhammer40k #astartes2 #astartes pic.twitter.com/RWoyL6Dvk2

— Skitzy (@Skitzy___) January 29, 2025

Similar to the original animation years prior, numerous content creators uploaded their reaction videos and breakdowns to the Astartes 2 trailer release.

For instance, Warhammer YouTuber Chapter Master Valrak posted his reaction and breakdown on January 29th, 2025, receiving over 112,000 views and 6,400 likes in 24 hours. Twitch streamer ti8ick then posted her reaction to YouTube that same day, receiving over 26,800 views and 1,900 likes in 16 hours.

Search Interest

External References