Warhammer 40k Astartes 2 guide – release window, trailer, and easter eggs

The Deathwatch is an elite group of Space Marines drawn from multiple chapters, tasked with hunting the most dangerous alien threats to the Imperium of Man (though they will throw down against other Warhammer 40k factions, like the servants of the Chaos gods, if they’re in the way). They employ specialist wargear, and leverage the unique talents of their different members to achieve feats no one chapter could manage alone.

Five Space Marine chapters are present in the video. The Retributors, whose icon is a hand clasping a skull, are an original creation of Syama Pedersen, the animator responsible for the original Astartes. The trailer shows them assaulting a Chaos Space Marine cult on a hive world, and later suffering a defeat to the Death Guard.

The yellow and black armored Scythes of the Emperor, whose icon is a pair of crossed scythes, are depicted fighting their natural enemies, the Tyranids, the voracious alien species that devoured their home world Sotha. The marines in the video are firstborn rather than Primaris marines, most of whom died out in the final defense of Sotha, so this could be a scene from that valiant last stand.

The warrior in black and white armor with a white skull logo painted onto his shoulder pad and helmet is a Mortificator (or Mortifactor, they’ve been called both things). Recruited from a death world, the Mortificators are extremely morbid, and favor close-ranged violence. The video shows a warrior punching Orks, pummelling a Winged Tyranid Prime in the face, and ramming a chainsword into a fallen human.

The warrior with a jump pack, red armor, and a winged blood drop icon is a member of the Blood Angels. This section is really brief: we see the Blood Angels take part in an aerial jump assault, and an Imperial Navy battleship (not a Space Marine vessel) being struck with either weapons fire or boarding pods while in a planetary atmosphere.

Lastly, the warriors in green with white helmets, with an icon of a black skull inside a spiked halo, are the Sons of Medusa. They’re descendants of the Iron Hands with a particularly devoted to the Cult Mechanicus – no surprises that they’re shown piloting tanks. They’re depicted fighting T’au stealth suits in a city, trading fire with T’au energy weapons from tank back, and chewing through hordes of Tyranids on the open plains.

It’s wild how much action is packed into just ninety seconds, and how well each segment captures the essence of Warhammer 40k. But it isn’t surprising: the original Astartes deserves its status as a cult classic. Pedersen clearly understand cinematography, sound design, and what makes the Warhammer 40k universe tick, to a degree few people can match.

Pedersen also runs his own 3D animation studio called Digital Bones, and released a stunning sizzler reel of its non-Astartes projects, at the same time the Astartes teaser trailer above dropped. 40k it ain’t, but Pedersen seems to be making some amazing stuff that Astartes fans (like us) will probably dig too – watch it here:

It’s possible we won’t see many new trailers for Astartes 2 between now and its projected release in 2026 – as (presumably) an animated short series, there are only so many clips GW can share in trailer form without spoiling the party.

Is Astartes canon?

Yes, to all intents and purposes, the original Astartes miniseries is now canon, because the episodes are now hosted on Warhammer TV and available through Warhammer Plus. 

This means that the Retributors chapter, invented by Syama Pedersen, exists within the official body of Warhammer 40k lore – as do the apparent Chaos cultists we see them fighting in the series, and the mysterious metallic orb and the strange, dust caked realm our protagonist travels to at the series’ climax.

The immense, mind bogglingly diverse Warhammer 40,000 canon contains many things – and Pedersen’s creations are now among them.

Was Astartes made by one guy?

Yes, the original Astartes miniseries was created by a single 3D animator, Syama Pedersen.

We don’t yet know the size or nature of the team working on Astartes 2, but it’s fair to hope and expect that Pedersen has had support from GW personnel this time around.

Did Syama Pedersen also work on the 40k Secret Level episode?

Yes, Syama Pedersen, creator of Astartes seasons one and two, also worked on the Warhammer 40,000 episode of Amazon’s animated miniseries Secret Level, first broadcast in December 2024.

Titled “And They Shall Know No Fear”, the episode features Lieutenant Demetrian Titus, protagonist of Space Marine 2, fighting Chaos cultists and traitor astartes in a desperate battle against insuperable odds (you know, just normal 40k things).

The 19 minute long short was made by US based animation house Blur Studio, and Pedersen’s LinkedIn page shows he was working there as a Layout Artist for six months during the time it was in development. He later posted that he was “proud to have contributed” to the episode.

Blur also created two other episodes in the series: “Xan”, based on classic PC shooter Unreal Tournament; and “Exodus: Odyssey”, based on Wizards of the Coast’s upcoming, still rather mysterious, sci-fi RPG Exodus. It’s thus possible Pedersen could have worked on those episodes as well, though he hasn’t said as much publicly.

How do you paint Space Marines as Retributors?

As Astartes grew in popularity – and especially in the increasingly hyped buildup to Astartes 2 – more and more fans have looked to paint up their own Space Marines in the color scheme of Astartes’ Retributors chapter: warm, slightly greenish gray armor, with white and gold trim.

As a relatively new entry into the ‘official’ ranks of Imperial chapters, Syama Pedersen’s Retributors don’t have any color scheme guidelines direct from Games Workshop – but don’t worry, the community provides.

There are a few good Retributors painting tutorials on YouTube, but our favorite is this detailed, 25 minute video by respected UK based commission painting firm Siege Studios.

Their ‘secret sauce’ for Retributors gray is a five to one mix of Citadel’s Skavenblight Dinge and XV-88 paints – a very dark, orange-tinged gray and a matt brown color, respectively. You’ll see the dreaded airbrush early in the video, but don’t worry – their scheme works just as well when base coating with a regular brush.

While you wait, we can keep your grimdark tank topped up with our recommendations for the best Warhammer 40k games for PC and console, or our detailed compendium of every single one of the Warhammer 40k Primarchs.