Dave Bautista, former WWE wrestler turned actor, has officially been cast as the new Kratos in the God of War live-action TV series, produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television.
After talks with Bautista were rumoured last week, Variety has now confirmed that the talks have seemingly ended with Bautista taking on the role. Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy) was originally cast as Kratos for Amazon’s adaptation, but suffered a torn bicep on set that would have had a long road to recovery, and pushed production to restart late into 2027. Filming had originally started back in February, with four episodes reportedly fully shot, until Hurst’s injury in June. This forced the series to recast Kratos, rather than wait for Hurst’s recovery.
While it’ll always be fascinating to think of what Hurst’s Kratos may have looked like, there’s arguably no one seemingly more well-suited to the role than the Guardians of the Galaxy and Blade Runner 2049 star. Bautista absolutely has the build for Kratos, and has expressed interest in video game adaptations before — ironically, one with the same acronym, Gears of War.
There have been reports that the God of War series is seeking to recast the roles for Atreus and Thrud, seeking older actors, but nothing has been outright confirmed at this point.
At this point, Callum Vinson is set to play Atreus, while Island Austin will play Thrud. They join a cast that includes Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka as brothers Brok and Sindri, and Ed Skrein as Baldur.
Frederick E.O. Toye will direct the first two episodes of the series, while producing is being handled by Maril Davis of Tall Ship, Cory Barlog, Naren Shankar, Matthew Graham, Asad Qizilbash, Jeff Ketcham, Hermen Hulst, Roy Lee, and Brad Van Arragon.
While we don’t know the exact story of the series, based on the roles and what has been announced, the series seems to be following the 2018 God of War on PlayStation 4.
God of War is scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video in 2027.
