Image credit: Prime Video
Kratos has been cast. Prime Video’s live-action God of War casts Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead) as the series’ scarred Spartan-turned-god, welcoming a familiar gaming face to PlayStation’s wildly popular ancient mythology video game series.
The film adaptation is being produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios in association with PlayStation Productions and Tall Ship Productions, with two seasons already ordered. Pre-production is underway in Vancouver and casting is currently underway.
Series contents
God of War follows Kratos and his 10-year-old son Atreus on a journey to scatter the ashes of his wife and mother, Faye. This is a story built around push and pull dynamics. Kratos tries to raise better gods, and Atreus tries to bring out better humans. The live-action series is expected to follow in the vein of the previous two films, where grief, consequences, and parenting sit alongside violence.
Interesting franchise development for Hearst
Hearst is not new to this world, so this casting feels like a nice mix of myth and mythology. In God of War: Ragnarok, he played Thor, the Norse god of thunder, a secondary antagonist and surprisingly complex nemesis to Kratos. He provided both the voice and motion capture for the character, but stepping into a live-action lead role only heightened the curiosity.
Outside of gaming, Hearst is best known for playing Opie Winston on FX’s Sons of Anarchy and most recently starred in Netflix’s The Abandons. His credits also include AMC’s The Walking Dead, CBS’ SWAT, Disney+’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, Bosch, and A&E’s Bates Motel. Next, he will appear in Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster, The Odyssey.
who is making it
Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, For All Mankind) is set to serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. Frederick E.O. Toy (Shogun, The Boys, Fallout) will direct the first two episodes. Executive producers include Maril Davis, Cory Barlog, Naren Shankar, Matthew Graham, Asad Kizilbash, Jeff Ketchum, Hermen Hulst, Roy Lee, and Brad Van Aragon, with Joe Menosky, Marc Bernardin, Tania Lottier, and Ben McGinnis serving as co-executive producers.
The question now is who will join Hearst in the role of Atreus, and whether the series will be able to keep the emotional weight of the story intact even after he’s no longer in the controller.
News of Hearst’s casting was first reported by Deadline.
