'God of War's TV Adaptation Has To Get This One Thing About Kratos Right

Published Aug 12, 2026, 7:24 PM EDT

Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.

Sony PlayStation’s mega-popular God of War video game franchise jumps into the live-action world with a new television show in the works for Prime Video. The series is currently undergoing some casting changes. Sadly, The Odyssey star Ryan Hurst, who previously portrayed Thor in the God of War: Ragnarök video game, will no longer portray Kratos in the series as originally planned, after suffering an injury during production. Deadline recently reported that former MCU star and WWE World Champion Dave Bautista is currently in negotiations to take over the role, but the recasting has not yet been made official. With the series undergoing production delays due to the recasting situation, it’s now a good time to reinforce the most important aspect of the series that showrunner Ronald D. Moore must get right to make this series work: Kratos’ Greek origins.

It’s important to note that the new live-action God of War show is not starting at the beginning of Kratos’ story, but instead, much later. The new show adapts the franchise’s Norse saga, which began with the 2018 video game God of War, which was a direct sequel to God of War III that concluded Kratos’ saga in the Greek pantheon. God of War in 2018 picks up years after Kratos arrived in Midgard, married Faye, who has recently departed, and had a son, Atreus. In both the 2018 game and the new series, Kratos and Atreus embark on a journey together to fulfill Faye’s last wishes and spread her ashes.

Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.

You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.

You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.

You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.

You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.

You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.

It’s easy to see why Sony PlayStation Productions and Amazon MGM Studios opted to base the new series on Kratos’ Norse adventures. In addition to recency bias and its undoubted popularity,** the newer God of War games depict a Kratos who is very different from his earlier Greek adventures**. In the Norse saga, Kratos has become far more tempered since arriving in Midgard, his relationship with Faye, and becoming a father to Atreus. Kratos regrets his past transgressions and no longer seeks violence and war, merely wanting to raise his son in peace and tranquility. Kratos in the Norse saga resembles Clint Eastwood’s William Munny in Unforgiven, making him a much more well-rounded, introspective character. However, Kratos’ newfound introspection will mean nothing if the series avoids his tormented, blood-soaked past by ignoring his Spartan backstory and only embraces his Norse adventures.

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