Henry Cavill And Mark Hamill Officially Star In Epic New Sci-Fi Thriller

Published Oct 17, 2026, 12:00 AM EDT

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

Henry Cavill is one of the biggest names in genre filmmaking and TV production, especially when it comes to the likes of fantasy. He starred in a series of action-packed epics from director Guy Ritchie, made a name for himself as the titular Superman in Zack Snyder's critically acclaimed superhero flick, and portrayed Geralt in The Witcher for several seasons. However, what Cavill is lacking in his repertoire are sci-fi projects.

Fortunately, that's being rectified with a string of upcoming releases within the genre that are, hopefully, going to impress fans. From Voltron to Cavill's Warhammer passion project, there are a string of titles set to release in the coming months and years that will position the talented actor as a sci-fi star. However, what will perhaps surprise fans the most is Cavill's star-studded sci-fi thriller set to release in 2027, a truly ambitious project 12 years in the making.

Henry Cavill's Upcoming Sci-Fi Epic Stars A Very Famous Cast

Rather unsurprisingly, the self-proclaimed fan of video games, Henry Cavill, is set to star in one of the biggest releases of 2027, Squadron 42. For those who don't know, Squadron 42 is the single-player spin-off of the highly controversial MMO, Star Citizen. It was promised as a key component of Star Citizen when the original game was crowdfunded back in 2012 and has slowly been in development ever since. It was only recently that Squadron 42's official release date was announced, and fans were treated to an impressive trailer.

Squadron 42's latest trailer also revealed all of the famous faces included in its massive cast. Developer Cloud Imperium Games has lofty, cinematic ambitions for the game, and its cast is evidence of that. In many ways, the game feels more akin to a Call of Duty title, only with far more money poured into it and much bigger names attached to it. Squadron 42's impressive cast is no accident, though, as it is being directed by Chris Roberts, the same man behind the iconic Wing Commander series, which itself attracted major stars, including Mark Hamill. Squadron 42's cast includes:

• Henry Cavill
• Mark Hamill
• Gillian Anderson
• Liam Cunnigham
• Jonathan Bailey
• Damson Idris
• Gary Oldman
• Mark Strong
• Jonathan Rhys-Davies
• Andy Serkis
• Ben Mendelsohn
• Eleanor Tomlinson
• Danny Huston
• Daniel Ings

Of course, this isn't an exhaustive list, but it is remarkable just how many famous people Roberts and co. managed to wrangle for Squadron 42. More impressive is how good the game looks, with its most recent trailer showcasing a mix of bombastic gunplay, cinematic cutscenes, and dogfighting, all of which look as exhilarating as the team had promised. There is still every possibility Squadron 42 could turn out to be a disappointment (it is a spin-off of Star Citizen after all), but, should it succeed, it could be 2027's game of the year.

Squadron 42 Looks Set To Be A Cinematic Marvel

Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised that Squadron 42 looks as good as it does, especially considering Star Citizen has managed to amass over a billion in crowdfunding since 2012. However, it is also the hard work and dedication of a team toiling away for over a decade, something that, one would hope, will ultimately pay dividends. The famous faces attached to it do give it some level of legitimacy, something that Cloud Imperium is likely banking on, although that'll only get you so far.

It is also great to see such a cinematic first-person shooter in 2027, as, beyond Call of Duty, these feel like a relic of the past. That may have something to do with the game's extraordinary development cycle, but one can hope that it'll usher in a wave of similar experiences should it prove to be a success. After all, with the genre dominated by annual multiplayer releases that have significantly declined in quality, something like Squadron 42 could be the very thing it needs to shake things up.

With the backing of the dedicated Star Citizen community and fans of its huge cast, Henry Cavill included, it would be surprising for Squadron 42 to be a financial flop. However, even should it fail, it'll, at the very least, be one of the most cinematic games in the history of the medium, and also the first to wrangle Henry Cavill into its cast, and that has to count for something.

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