Well, that didn’t take long: just over two weeks after news broke that Prime Video would recast the role of Kratos in its God of War TV series after actor Ryan Hurst suffered an on-set injury and tore his bicep while performing a stunt, Variety reports that Dave Bautista is in talks to take over Hurst’s role as Kratos.
The upcoming series is an adaptation of Santa Monica Studios’ 2018 video game God of War (which is a “reimagining” of the God of War video game franchise that got its start in 2005) and its 2022 sequel God of War Ragnarök. The games follow Kratos, the Greek god of war, whose wife, Faye, has recently died, leaving Kratos to raise their son, Atreus, on his own. As Kratos and Atreus journey to spread Faye’s ashes from the highest peak in the nine realms (Kratos ditched Mount Olympus after slaughtering a good chunk of his fellow gods and goddesses and decided Midgard might be a good place to lay low), they come into conflict with various Norse gods.
Filming on God of War was already underway when Hurst injured his bicep, with four of the first season’s 10 episodes reportedly already shot. However, Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios reportedly made the call to recast Hurst because his recovery timeline was simply too long. Hurst put on 40 pounds of muscle for the role, which he earned after voicing Thor in God of War Ragnarök. Stargate SG-1 actor Christopher Judge voiced Kratos in both games.
Prior to Hurst’s casting, Judge had been vocal about wanting to take on the role in live-action, and fan sentiment for his casting was high. Bautista’s name was also frequently thrown out as a good fit for Kratos, and it’s not hard to see why: Bautista is a versatile actor with dramatic chops, and he’s got the muscles required to believably play the Greek god of war. If his casting is confirmed, it’ll be a solid choice.
Prime Video is looking to get production back up and running this fall. There is currently no release window for God of War.
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